And just when you thought the superhero universe couldn’t get any twistier, news sleuths uncover that Robert Downey Jr., the charismatic Iron Man, refused an offer to do a cameo in the capitals-of-chaos flick, Deadpool & Wolverine. Not only this, but the cosmos-shaking film project had elaborate schemes to shoehorn in the original Avengers.

Cue the shocked gasps and dropped jaws folks – IndieWire just spilled the tea. Deadpool & Wolverine’s master scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick let it slip that RDJ was on the cards to reprise his role as our favorite industrialist-turned-hero, Tony Stark/Iron Man. The scene in question? Oh, just a chatty rendezvous with Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan. Nothing to see here, folks.

The One Where Iron Man Turned Down Deadpool & Wolverine

Now hold on to your popcorn, kids. Take a deep breath… Are you sitting down? Downey relished in giving Reese and Wernick the old brush-off. Deceptive twist? Strategic ploy? Oh, hell, who knows? But here’s the kicker: the man who piloted the Iron Man suit has rolled the dice on the sinister and sophisticated villain, Doctor Doom. Talk about a 180-degree character flip – brilliant, but completely and utterly bonkers.

“We had hankered for a RDJ cameo. That scene with Happy and Downey was perfect,” Wernick mused. The slice of silver screen action? Deadpool, courtesy of Ryan Reynolds, time-tripping through MCU’s Sacred Timeline to stake a claim in the Avengers squad. Favreau, as the ever-reliable Hogan, rejected him for being an incorrigible egomaniac and lousy team player. If only they’d known Downey’s gold-plated heart was set on playing Doctor Doom. It’s a mad mad superhero world, folks.

The Offended Avengers

Brace yourself, true believers. Reese and Wernick unleashed yet another baffler – an unrealized celluloid dream of not just roping in Downey, but all the original Avengers. Yes, Mark Ruffalo’s nerdy Bruce Banner, Scarlett Johansson’s athletic Natasha Romanoff, Jeremy Renner’s archer Clint Barton, Chris Hemsworth’s godly Thor, and the dashing Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers – all being verbally assaulted in a classic Deadpool style takedown.

“We flirted with the idea of having Rob Delaney’s Peter casually lifting Thor’s hammer in the background – a comic relief moment as Deadpool takes a hilarious swing at the stalwart Avengers,” Reese jests. No prizes for guessing that Downey was the only one who ever flipped through the scene’s script.

Keeping the humor train chugging, Deadpool & Wolverine has already outrun the box-office superhero league, crossing $900 million, and rocketing towards hitting the billion-dollar hallmark soon. Downey, meanwhile, is oiling his metal suit and sharpening his wits as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Stay tuned for more tricks, flips, and shenanigans coming your way from the fantastically bizarre land of superheroes. Class dismissed.