What's the future of Iron Man? No one's quite sure. He's Marvel's flagship superhero, and the head of the "Avengers," but eventually Marvel may want to cast a new actor in Robert Downey Jr.'s place.
Which might seem like blasphemy to some "Avengers" fans. But we'll see what Marvel has in store.
According to Christian Today, neither Downey Jr. or co-star Gwyneth Paltrow (who plays his love interest, Pepper Potts) have signed on to a fourth "Iron Man" film. The only future films Downey Jr. has under contract right now are "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and a future "Avengers 3." No more standalone "Iron Man" films, as far as anyone knows.
But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Downey Jr. isn't opposed to returning or "Iron Man 4," whenever that may be.
"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," said the "Iron Man" star. "When things are going great, there's a lot of agreement."
Later, Downey Jr. added the following:
"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."
Enstarz, commenting on the "Iron Man 4" situation, seems oddly hopeful. They cite that Marvel plans to increase production of future films, eventually getting to the point where they're releasing three (or maybe even four) every year. At that point, there are plenty of opportunities for Downey Jr. to return.
Of course, there are also rumors that Downey Jr. may kill off his Iron Man character in a future "Avengers" film. And in that case, rule out any chance of an "Iron Man 4."
But in what capacity, it's not quite clear. Check back soon, as we find out the latest on Downey Jr. and "Iron Man 4."
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