Is Robert Downey Jr. making an appearance in ‘Captain America 4’?

Marvel Studios

Take this with a boulder of salt for now, but rumor around the geek-o-sphere says Robert Downey Jr. was spotted on the set of the forthcoming fourth Captain America movie.

So, could Tony Stark be making a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time since the character’s death in Avengers: Endgame? Well, that’s the rumor, thanks to an author who claims Downey was spotted around the Washington, D.C., set of Captain America: Brave New World.

In her post on LinkedIn of all places, Nawar Shora said a security guard on set tipped her off that Downey was there the night before, and there were “supercars” all around.

You know, like what Tony Stark would drive.

As reported, Harrison Ford succeeds the late William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Captain America: Brave New World. Ross has tangled with Stark both in Marvel Comics and in the MCU, starting with Marvel’s One-Shots.

Before the MCU had access to tell small-screen stories as it can now via Disney+, the One-Shots served as bridges between movies as the MCU began stitching its cinematic universe together.

The first one, 2011’s The Consultant, took place after the events of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and had Downey’s Stark meeting up with Hurt’s Ross at a bar and telling him about the Avengers Initiative.

Ross has gone from a general to the secretary of state in the MCU. Now, with Ford playing the character as president in Brave New World, it’s plausible, but by no means certain, that a flashback could bring both characters together.

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