Recently, Robert Downey Jr. has been named as Forbes' highest paid actor in the world, thanks to the success of "Iron Man 3," which alone had earned him $75 million.
But there are speculations on his return to "Iron Man 4". Rumors are rife that "Total Recall" actor Colin Farrell is going to take over the armor, Christian Today reported. But the main question is that why Downey should not return to the role he somewhat credited his second return to super-celebrity status for? If Downey is replaced in the next "Iron Man" sequel, which actor is best suited to play the witty, rich, obnoxious Tony Stark he has been identified with? Although Colin Farrell's name is swirling in the industry for quite some time now, these are just rumors, nothing is confirmed yet. There have been reports that Marvel Studios is open to cast new actors for this role.
But does Downey even want to be replaced? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Downey said, "It's down to Kevin (Feige, Marvel Studios president) and Ike (Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment) and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and that's on us to agree or disagree, When things are going great, there's a lot of agreement. Right now, this has just been swell, hasn't it? This has been a really good one and it feels good and we're having a good time."
The 49-year-old actor also talked about why he wants to return to the "Iron Man" franchise. At the moment, It seems like Downey is having a good time filming the much-awaited "Avengers" sequel.
"It's that thing of: Why give up the belt when it feels like you can barely get jabbed? Most people are saying that right when they get knocked out... The future is, as usual, uncertain," he teased.
Feige, president of Marvel Studios, had said in an interview last year. Christian Today quoted the film executive as saying, "I see no reason why Tony Stark can't be as evergreen as James Bond. Or Batman for that matter. Or Spider-Man."
But in another interview, Feige began to be vague about Downey's return as "Iron Man."
"Anything's a possibility. Who the heck knows? We have a lot of work to go to finish 'Avengers 2.' We have a lot of work for whatever 'Avengers 3' is, that's all folks need to know. Who knows what happens after that," said Feige to Collider.
Well, we just need to wait for the official announcement of the "Iron Man 4" cast. But the question is: Can the audience embrace another actor as the next Tony Stark?
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