Robert Downey Jr isn’t thrilled with Elon Musk’s ‘Iron Man’ act, wants tycoon to ‘control’ his behavior
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Iron Man' star Robert Downey Jr is reportedly not too chuffed about real-life tech billionaire Elon Musk 'cosplaying' the Marvel character of Tony Stark that he brought to life on the big screens, according to The Daily Beast.
During a conversation on New York Magazine’s 'On With Kara Swisher' podcast that aired on Monday, October 21, the actor commented on Musk after Swisher said the latter has been cosplaying Stark, the alter-ego of the popular Avenger, Iron Man.
What did Robert Downey Jr say about Elon Musk?
"I’ve only met him a few times, (but) I just wish that he would control his behavior a little more," stated Robert Downey Jr in the interview.
The actor had interacted with Elon Musk during the production of 'Iron Man 2', as he walked in for a cameo and allowed a scene to be shot at SpaceX, which he owns.
“This idea of ‘It’s all okay ‘cause we’ve gotta get to Mars’ doesn’t really hold water with me,” said Downey Jr of Musk and his company's efforts to "colonize" the red planet.
However, he did not completely write Musk off.
Downey Jr said, "You have to look at all that (Musk has) done that demonstrates why he’s valuable. Nowadays separating the individual from their behavior is a tough thing to do because hell is other people—and that has been hijacked in this information age, to divide us rather than allow for discourse, debate, and dialogue.”
Elon Musk's 'Iron Man' link
Being a tech billionaire, Elon Musk is often touted as the closest real-life avatar to Marvel's Tony Stark.
The director of the first two 'Iron Man' films, Jon Favreau, shared in 2016 that Musk had influenced the on-screen personality of the character. Downey Jr had spent time with him to get "some insight into what it’d really be like to be Tony Stark", he claimed.
Though he explained that Iron Man was based on the comic book character and not Musk himself, Favreau did consider him a “very good friend of the Marvel family".
'Iron Man' screenwriter Mark Fergus described the screen character of Stark as a combination of Musk, Donald Trump before becoming president, and "maybe a little Steve Jobs".
However, since Musk has come out as a MAGA supporter and has been using his wealth and ownership of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to allegedly influence the US general election and spread misinformation, his connection to the superhero has become problematic for Marvel as well as the fans.
When Downey Jr described Favreau as the 'Elon Musk of cinema' in August, intending to convey that he was "tech-friendly", he was met with disapproval across the internet.
Internet insists Elon Musk 'is no Tony Stark'
'Iron Man' fans reacting to the news on the social media platform Facebook refused to consider Elon Musk as real-life Tony Stark and compared him to his adversary, the villaneous entrepreneur Justin Hammer instead.
"Yeah, Elon is no Tony Stark. Just a wealthy investor that took some good ideas and bankrolled them," wrote a person.
"Dollar Tree Tony Stark," quipped another.
"He is cosplaying as Justin Hammer," stated a third.
"He’s another guy that will self-destruct," jibed a fourth.
"Elon isn't a genius. He's a drug addict who should be deported," alleged a fifth.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
