U.S. Customs And Border Protection Employee Claims To Have Seen Robert Downey Jr. On The Set Of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ In Washington D.C.

John F. Trent |

Jul 5, 2023

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Iron Man (2008), Marvel Entertainment

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee claims to have seen Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. on the set of Captain America: Brave New World in Washington, D.C.

Tony Stark blows up a tank in 'Iron Man' (2008), Paramount Pictures

During a press conference in March hosted by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Officer of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, OCTFME Director LaToya Foster confirmed a Marvel Studios project would be filming in the city later in the year.

“We have Marvel coming to Washington D.C.,” Foster announced. “I can’t give you too much about that but let me tell you, we’re going to have a huge Marvel film taking place right in downtown that you won’t want to miss out on.”

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— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 16, 2023

Washington, D.C. issued an alert noting that a film production would be shutting down a number of streets between Monday, June 26th and Friday, June 30th. The streets included 15th Street from G Street to Constitution Ave, NW as well as F Street from 14th Street to 15 Street NW.

Other closures included Upper Pennsylvania Avenue from 14th Street to 15th Street NW and Lower Pennsylvania Avenue from 14th Street to 15th Street NW.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee Nawar Shora would share at the end of June that he spotted Robert Downey Jr. on the set.

He said, “They are filming Captain America 4 around the White House and near my office. I was on a quick errand walk as I noticed all the lights and equipment and finally asked one of the security folks about it.”

“He was so talkative and nice, said — (SPOILER) — Robert Downey Jr was there last night and they were driving all sorts of super cars. We had a good talk and some laughs. I kept hoping for some producer to walk up to me and demand: “You! … You have to play my next superhero!”

He then shared a photo of what he encountered from the production on the streets, “Photo is a sample of what’s all over the streets.”

Robert Downey Jr. has not appeared in a Marvel Studios production since his character, Iron Man, sacrificed himself to defeat an alternate timeline Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.

The actor did not even provide his voice talents when the character was featured in the animated series What If…?. Iron Man was voiced by Mick Wingert. Interestingly other actors did share their voice talents for their characters including Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Toby Jones as Armin Zola, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, Paul Bettany as Vision, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Kurt Russell as Ego, and more.

However, Downey Jr. was not the only actor to not voice his character for the series. Josh Keaton voiced Captain America instead of Chris Evans, Lake Bell voiced Black Widow instead of Scarlet Johansson, Alexandra Daniels voiced Captain Marvel instead of Brie Larson, Ross Marquand voiced Ultron instead of James Spader, and Beth Hoyt voiced Pepper Potts instead of Gwyneth Paltrow.

Robert Downey Jr. also appeared to be off the table when it came to a return as Tony Stark and Iron Man. In February 2023 Marvel Studios producer Stephen Broussard told Gizmodo, “Well, I think one of the meta-narratives of Phase Four was about new characters. It was about new people stepping into mantles. If you look at, like, Cassie [Lang in Quantumania] getting a suit and Kate Bishop [in Hawkeye], new characters being introduced like Jack in Werewolf by Night.”

He then shared, “After these first 10 years of Marvel storytelling, torches are being passed, like with Robert Downey Jr. no longer being [on the] table and stuff like that. So it was kind of like a new generation stepping to the forefront which, again, has always happened in the comics.”

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) puts an end to the Ten Rings' assault on Gulmira, Afghanistan in Iron Man (2008), Marvel Entertainment

Downey Jr. for his part has previously made it clear he could be open to returning to the character. He told GQ in April 2021, “I have alighted, for now. Real world to save. But never say never.”

He previously told Digital Spy in 2019, “We had to get off. We opted to, and knew it was part of the job to get off the bus while it rolled on to other destinations.”

“There’s something very sobering about it. I’m glad he and I will be there to welcome others as they retire their jerseys,” Downey Jr. added.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) emerges from his cave after making use of a box of scraps in Iron Man (2008), Marvel Entertainment

It’s also not unheard of for Marvel Studios to get actors to reprise their roles. The production company did it with Patrick Stewart as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

They also secured Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine in the third Deadpool film despite Jackman repeatedly claiming he had no intentions of returning to the character after Logan.

To highlight that point, Jackman stated in 2021, “I realized before we shot Logan, I was like, ‘We got the idea, we knew what it was going to be — ish, right?’ And I thought, ‘This is it.’”

“And that really helped me. It really helped knowing I was going into my last season that it was my last season. That I made the most of it,” he continued.

He concluded, “And it’s still a character I hold close to my heart. But I know it’s done. Tell that to whoever you want, but please tell it to Ryan [Reynolds] because he doesn’t believe it. He thinks I’m joking. Please.”

In September 2022, Jackman appeared in the official Deadpool 3 announcement alongside Ryan Reynolds.

Jackman can be seen walking behind Reynolds. When Reynolds asks, “Hey, Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?” Jackman responds, ““Yeah, sure, Ryan.” It’s then revealed the film will arrive in theaters on September 6, 2024.