With each step closer to Captain America: Civil War, we also take a step closer to the point at which the Marvel Cinematic Universe will need to go through major changes. Robert Downey Jr. got the whole ball rolling with the first Iron Man movie back in 2008 and he’s currently the highest-paid actor in Hollywood for the part. It’s a forgone conclusion that Downey won’t play Iron Man forever, but it turns out that he might not be quite as done with the role as we thought.
We know that Robert Downey Jr. is under contract to reprise his role as Tony Stark through the Avengers: Infinity War films which will wrap with part two in 2019. After that, though, it’s anybody’s guess what will happen to the character. Paying Downey to hang around isn’t cheap, and one would expect that a contract extension would only be more expensive. At the same time, the actor could also just be getting tired of playing the part. However, Robert Downey Jr. tells ABC News that he’s not quite sure he’s done just yet.
I feel like I could do one more.
Iron Man 4? Confirmed! Ok, that’s not quite true. Assuming that Iron Man appears in both Avengers: Infinity War films, Robert Downey Jr. will have played the part in nine separate films when part two wraps in 2019. Ten, if you count his cameo in The Incredible Hulk. That’s certainly enough time to get tired of the part, and it sounds like when the decision is made to move on, Downey will be the one to make it. He could have said that he felt like he could make more, and simply left it open. Specifying "one" makes it sound like that’s all we can hope for.
At this point we have no idea what Marvel is planning past the Avengers: Infinity War. There was only one film on the official slate following Infinity War: Part 2, yet, the Inhumans film has been officially taken off the schedule to make room for the fifth Indiana Jones movie. (Disney synergy.) While the Inhumans film is still expected to happen, the MCU is a completely blank page after the summer of 2019. We’re sure meetings of what to do are happening, but we don’t really know what that is. Would an Iron Man 4 be something they could work into the mix? It would seem ridiculous to not entertain the possibility. The property has just been too successful.
Would you love to see Robert Downey Jr. headline one additional Marvel movie before he wraps it up? Let us know what you think in the comments.
