Timothy Olyphant Says “I’m Too Old” for Marvel Movies

Timothy Olyphant has no plans to fly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe anytime soon. Last week, The New Yorker interviewed former Marvel president David Masiel who mentioned that Olyphant was up against Robert Downey Jr. for the title role in 2008’s Iron Man, which ended up being a game-changer for the franchise. But now, the actor is saying he’s “too old” to slip on the superhero tights. 

While on the red carpet for the premiere of Full Circle at the Tribeca Film Festival, Decider asked Olyphant if he’s still interested in starring in a Marvel movie, following his Iron Man audition from over fifteen years ago. “Did they already cast that role? … Fingers crossed that something else comes up,” Olyphant joked. 

The role eventually went to Downey Jr., who portrayed the character in 10 movies throughout the franchise, culminating with the 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame. 

Slightly more seriously, Olyphant offered, “I’m too old for those movies,” while not ruling out an MCU role stating, “If they call, I’d answer.”

Instead, the actor has his sights set on a busy 2023 with his Max limited series premiering this summer, along with Justified: City Primeval. He also appeared in the Prime Video hit series Daisy Jones & The Six earlier this year. 

When it comes to Full Circle, directed by Steven Soderbergh, Olyphant effortlessly balances comedy and drama as he portrays the affluent father of a teenage boy who was recently involved in a kidnapping gone wrong. His character is frantic and a bit absentminded but seems to have his priorities in line, which is keeping his family safe.

While the festival only screened the first two episodes, Olyphant teases that there’s much more to come. Speaking about his character, he said, “Derek is like everybody in this show – he’s in trouble. He’s got some mistakes he’s made in the past and they’re all coming back to haunt him.”

The actor went on to say that “everybody’s got the water up to their noses in this one,” hinting at similar drama surrounding characters played by his costars, Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Jharrel Jerome, and others. Olyphant said his character spends the most time with Danes, who plays his wife Sam. He gushed about his colleague, calling her “one of the most amazing, wonderful people” and a “total professional.”

As for what drew him to the project, his interest “started and ended” with Soderbergh’s involvement. “Someone said ‘Soderbergh wants to talk to you’ and then we talked, and the next thing you know, I was in this project,” Olyphant shared.

Well, if Kevin Feige wants to see Olyphant rock the cape and tights, all he needs to do is get Soderbergh on board.