The Black Widow star also weighs on the swirling theories around the new Spider-Man movie.
Outside of actually watching the finished movies, one of the best parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the constant rumour mill. The massive theories and speculations are always huge fun to catch up on, and as part of the current Loki show, we often take part and add to the rumour mill ourselves.
Of course, the problem with that is if the rumours don't manifest, and the theories remain just that - theories - then the end product can be disappointing if the reality doesn't at least match what fans have built up in their heads.
We've seen it when John Krasinski didn't suddenly appear as Reed Richards in WandaVision, and when a secretly-cast actor didn't pop up as Wolverine in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
One of the bigger stories doing the rounds in the last year was that Robert Downey Jr. was returning as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Black Widow movie. He was there in Iron Man 2 when she initially joined the MCU, so being there for the end has a nice symmetry to it.
In the run-up to the movie's release, JOE chatted to David Harbour, who plays Red Guardian, aka Black Widow's secret agent "dad", and the conversation turned to all of these theories and speculations, and specifically the return of Iron Man.
Check out our full interview with Harbour right here:
When we asked about the rumour of Tony Stark/Iron Man returning for Black Widow, this was his reply:
"Yeah, I mean I see so much stuff online, it is hilarious, what online people think is [happening]. A lot of it is just clickbait, people just want you to click on their thing. But I see hilarious stuff about Stranger Things, I saw hilarious stuff about this movie. I will say there were a couple different versions of a couple different scenes in this movie. Especially the end stuff. And there was a version with an iconic character, that we didn't ultimately get done. It wasn't Robert Downey Jr., but I'll let you all speculate on who it might have been."
Now, we know who this was supposed to be, but out of respect for those who haven't seen the movie yet, we won't spoil it here. But we will say this: it ties in directly with Black Widow's post-credits scene.
Harbour then goes on to talk about another big online rumour for an upcoming superhero franchise:
"But I think there is a lot of investment that people have in these actors from the first ten years, and I think they want to- The internet likes to make a big scandal and conspiracy of everything. And the unfortunate thing is it is not all a conspiracy. These guys have said that they're done moving forward. I think that [RDJ] has said that he's finished, and I think the unfortunate reality is that he means it!
"It's funny, I saw speculation online about Spider-Man too, it is so funny, because I think people, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire are supposed to be in the Spider-Man, and everyone is like 'Oh, they're in the new Spider-Man!', and Andrew Garfield came out and said 'I haven't been contacted about the new Spider-Man', and then I actually read some of the comments under it, and all of the comments said 'Well he wouldn't say if he was!' and I'm like 'Guys! It's not a conspiracy! He just actually hasn't been contacted!' I promise, most of the stuff I say in these interviews, it is just kind of the truth! I mean, unless you ask me spoiler questions that I have to lie about, there is not much of a conspiracy going on."
Obviously we've all heard these multiverse rumours around the upcoming Spider-Man, as outside of Maguire and Garfield apparently being re-drafted as alternative universe Peter Parkers, it will also feature Jamie Foxx returning as Electro, and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus. Whether any of that is true, we'll need to wait until December to find out.
And finally, Harbour draws a line under online theorising, and the one man we should all take at his word:
"I find it quite amusing when it is not violent and mean-spirited, which sometimes the internet can be. When it is just fun, and you guys wanna obsess about the fact that he is in this, and he isn't, I'm fine with it! But a lot of times, y'know, when people say these things, they really do mean it. And I certainly know that Kevin Feige, when he says something, he generally means it, so you can listen to him!"
Black Widow is released in Irish cinemas on Wednesday, 7 July, and will be available on Disney+ with Premier Access from Friday, 9 July.
Clip via Disney Ireland
