On a recent Late Show appearance, guest Robert Downey Jr. pitched and offered host Stephen Colbert a role in The Avengers. Instead of having Colbert step in to replace Downey Jr. as Iron Man (the latter made it clear last year he's "done all [he] could with that character"), he's got something much more lame and hilarious in mind. Check out the appearance--cued up to this specific exchange--in the video below.

　　"There's an opening, right?" says Downey Jr., teasing about his departure as Iron Man. "Cobie Smulders plays Agent Hill, sometimes Commander Hill. I thought if she needed a weekend assistant, right? Cap Colbert. You have a baseball cap, and when you wear it you possess the superpower that no man has. You can multitask and you can take care of all her stuff."

　　Colbert laughs and says he'd "be very grateful." Downey Jr. promised "it's going to go up the tree to [Marvel Studios head Kevin] Feige."

　　Truth be told, it is not as far fetched as it might seem to result in a role. Years ago, Colbert--an outspoken fan of sci-fi and fantasy--had a cameo in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug playing a spy in Lake-town. At the time back in 2013, Vanity Fair published a quick piece on it, which also has some important photographic proof. Maybe he'll show up in a similar fashion in a future Marvel movie? Or is this a super-slick tease to The Falcon and Winter Soldier, which debuted its first trailer during the Super Bowl--after all, they didn't explicitly say Colbert isn't in it?

　　David Wolinsky on Google+