Marvel legend teases MCU comeback in the Multiverse Saga

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown into such a phenomenon over the past 15+ plus years. What started with Iron Man in 2008 has expanded into a whole universe full of heroes, villains, and everything in between. We can't even just say universe anymore because it has widened those barriers, expanding into the whole of the Marvel multiverse at this point.

The Marvel Studios franchise is in the midst of its Multiverse Saga, with the various movies and Disney Plus shows exploring alternate realms, and even introducing new versions of old characters. It feels like a cliché to say that the sky is the limit for Marvel because it always was, but in terms of what the film series can accomplish now, the sky truly is the limit.

Don' take my word for it; just look at the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home or Deadpool and Wolverine which brought back classic actors as the former Marvel heroes and villains they once played. And that naturally poses us with the question of whether we could see more comebacks from alternate universes. Heck, one Marvel legend even floated the idea of a return as the same version of his character.

Jeff Bridges on the potential of an MCU return as Obadiah Stane

Hollywood legend Jeff Bridges recently appeared on an episode of The Happy Sad Confused Podcast with Josh Horowitz, during which he spoke about his career. That extended to his recent work on The Old Man, as well as his classic movies like The Big Lebowski and King Kong. He also discussed his time as Obadiah Stane in Marvel Studios' Iron Man, reflecting on the film's script and even discussing the potential of an MCU comeback as the character.

Bridges portrayed Obadiah Stane, a.k.a. the Iron Monger, in the 2008 movie and ended up making history as the first ever MCU villain. The character was a longtime friend of Tony Stark who ran Stark Industries, but he also secretly orchestrated his kidnapping and sold Stark's weaponry to the highest bidders.

The character presumably died in the ending of Iron Man when he and Tony engaged in a huge battle, which resulted in him being electrocuted and falling into the Arc Reactor, which then exploded. But Bridges teased fans with the possibility that all may not be what it seems... or at least that's the way it went down in the film's original script.

When Horowitz asked him about potentially returning as an alternate version of the character in the Multiverse Saga, Bridges presented him with the possibility of returning as the original version of Obadiah Stane instead, revealing that the original version of the Iron Man script left the villain's fate much more ambiguous.

"[He] falls into that big vat at the end, the script I read and agreed to do, they pull my suit out, they open it and I'm not there… Who knows, it's all science fiction. I could maybe pop up again."

When it comes to comic book villains, a fate like that one isn't all that uncommon, as we've seen it portrayed in the comics and on television over the years with characters such as The Joker and Catwoman. MCU fans are convinced that this is exactly what Marvel Studios has done with the Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as they quietly build towards her inevitable return. So it definitely would have been a satisfying ending to Iron Man as a 2008 movie, but it may have left the MCU franchise with an open-ending that it would have never been able to explore. That is, unless Stane does return one day.

Bridges' Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Jr. will return to the franchise as the new primary villain of the Multiverse Saga. The veteran actor, who played the role of Tony Stark all the way through to 2019's Avengers: Endgame, will now play an evil variant of the character known as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Endgame, which really highlights the potential of the Multiverse Saga.

The possibility of a Jeff Bridges Marvel return is exciting too, and it would be fitting given that the Multiverse Saga is about celebrating all Marvel movies. He did play the very first MCU villain, after all. If it does happen, it would more than likely be as an alternate version of the character in a cameo appearance so that it wouldn't undo Iron Man's filmed ending, but either way, fans would no doubt be thrilled to see him back on our screens. Furthermore, it would be a great callback to the original MCU movie.