What If? Someone Else Had Been Cast As Iron Man?

On this morning’s Howard Stern Show, Iron Man director John Favreau called in to promote the recent DVD and Blue Ray release of the film. When talking about the casting of Robert Downey Jr., Favreau was pressed by Howard to reveal who else Marvel had been considering early on.

The two names that Favreau revealed, stressing that these were just two ideas out of many initial ones and that no official offers were close to being made were:

Clive Owen and Sam Rockwell – two pretty damn good actors in their own right.

Again, Robert Downey Jr. was pretty much the unanimous choice once his name was thrown in and he had auditioned but these two names DO leave you wondering “What if?” Somewhere, in an alternate dimension of the Geekscape, Iron Man is being played by the guy from Shoot ‘Em Up or the older brother from Clown House (old school Victor Salva reference in the house!). Who else could have been bandied about in these meetings?

The conversation was short and nothing new was really revealed for the fanboys out there. One highlight was when Howard made a point to throw his name into the hat to be considered as The Mandarin. When Favreau countered that he was an Asian character, Howard responded comically with “Herro, Iwon Man!”

Maybe, somewhere in an alternate universe, that possibility is ALSO being played out before moviegoers!

Only our buddy Uatu knows for sure.