‘What’s It Gonna Be, Tony Starks?’ Robert Downey, Jr. Now Says ‘Iron Man 4’ Is a No Go to David Letterman after hinting a 'Yes Go' to Ellen DeGeneres

By Staff Writer

Oct 09 2014, 10:23 AM EDT

In a recent guesting on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", Robert Downey, Jr. told Ellen that there would be an "Iron Man 4" when asked if there would be one. Looking back to it now, it seems like a half-hearted answer, plus the actor never actually confirmed that he would reprise the role of the Golden Avenger.

Now Downey totally backpedalled. Last night, the Hollywood icon appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman", and upon Letterman's inquiry, his answer sent any in the know fan into an "I thought he said" moment.

Well, we all thought wrong.

"What about Iron 4? When will that be out?" Letterman asked.

"There are no plans for Iron Man 4," Downey replied, effectively distancing himself from his earlier statement.

"Why not?" came back Letterman.

"You know what? That's a valid question," Downey retorted.

It's a valid question indeed. Is this guy messing around?

Coming down to the end of the topic, Letterman asked Downey if he is going to "make another one of those Iron Man movies", and Downey responded conclusively (for the moment, probably): "Just between us, NO. But I'm gonna do other stuff with Marvel. I'm still gonna be involved with Marvel and there's gonna be plenty of fun stuff to happen."

And just like that, there are now more questions than answers.

But apparently, according to Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Studios would like to keep Downey involved in the franchise and Downey would like to keep playing the all-in-one role of genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. But for now, Marvel Studios is focused on its other franchises, what with the approaching release of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on May 1, 2015 to close Phase Two, and the Phase Three primer "Ant-Man" on July 17, 2015.

So there we have it. No "Iron Man 4". But who knows? Nothing is official until it's official. Remember, Marvel never said that "Iron Man 3" would be the third and final installment of the "Iron Man" franchise. True, Robert Downey, Jr. is expensive. But what are negotiations for, other than for reaching compromises and striking deals? All this could be a marketing strategy to keep anticipations at an all-time high.

Watch the interview again, and read between the lines.