Why Iron Man’s Father, Howard Stark, Was Recast In The MCU

After appearing in several Iron Man movies and other Marvel projects, Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark, is one of several MCU characters that have been recast over the years, leaving some to wonder why. Howard Stark played an integral role in the Iron Man story arc, as well as the MCU as a whole, even working alongside Captain America before Tony was a twinkle in his father’s eye. Unlike some of the more high-profile recasts, however, Howard Stark’s portrayal by different actors may have more narratively significant reasons.

At this point, Marvel fans are used to seeing MCU actors that have been recast. It isn’t particularly surprising given how long the franchise has been running. While the recasting of high-profile characters like Bruce Banner is certainly hard to ignore, Howard Stark’s portrayal by different actors is something that can easily be explained, even if it has happened more than once.

How Many Actors Have Played Howard Stark

Howard Stark is among the most recast roles in the MCU, having been portrayed by three actors: Gerard Sanders, Dominic Cooper, and John Slattery. While Sanders only appeared as Howard Stark in photographs in Iron Man, Cooper and Slattery have portrayed the inventor for more substantial stints. Cooper first appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, portraying a young Stark and later reprised his role in Agent Carter. Slattery, meanwhile, took over the role in three movies: Iron Man 2, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Endgame. Unlike most th MCU recasts, however, there were narrative reasons for having different actors portray the founder of Stark Industries.

Why Marvel Didn’t Use The Same Howard Stark Actor Across Movies

The first chronological speaking role for Howard was during the 1940s, when he would have been in his 20s. This is one of the reasons why the young Dominic Cooper was a fitting choice for the role. The older Slattery’s tenure as Stark, meanwhile, took place several decades later, culminating in his reprisal of the role in the 1970s, during the touching moment where Tony Stark reunites with his father as part of the “Time Heist” in Avengers: Endgame.

The question follows as to why either actor couldn’t have played both a younger and older Howard Stark with the aid of aging or de-aging special effects. The MCU has famously and successfully aged and de-aged characters like Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and more, so doing as much for Howard would have followed suit. However, it likely wasn’t an ideal choice for a few reasons. First, Howard’s first recast was relative early in the MCU before the tech was proven on-screen. That, coupled with Howard having few appearances, likely made it easier to simply recast and save VFX time.

As for why Sanders, the first to portray the character in Iron Man, wasn’t offered the role of an older Stark, we can safely assume that the relatively unknown actor was overlooked in favor of the more established Slattery, who had demonstrated his credible acting chops in his role in AMC’s critically acclaimed Mad Men. This particular recast wasn’t quite as jarring as the switch from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo, however, given Sanders’ minimal role as Howard Stark back when the MCU hadn’t even been established, in addition to the fact that he simply appeared in photograph form.