Remember that time Robert Downey Jr. went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and, in response to a question regarding Iron Man 4, loosely confirmed that the sequel was happening? Yeah, well, that only lasted until Downey appeared on his NEXT talk show, where he subsequently shot that rumor down.
Hours after doing Ellen, the wonderful Robert Downey Jr. appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and backtracked like a pro. The actor who’ll forever be Tony Stark explained:
There are no plans for Iron Man 4 … There’s no script for Iron Man 4, but [Marvel does] have a plan and I think they’re going to announce it – you know, they’re very secretive about it."
I know you want to hear these comments in context. Because Robert Downey knows, better than anyone else, that his every comment regarding Marvel’s film properties will be uber-analyzed. Give the full clip a spin, because he also talks in depth about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And it’s pretty great the way Letterman tries to get Downey to commit to Iron Man 4 on camera. Do you think someone at Marvel got to RDJ and said, "Hey, stop confirming movies that aren’t going to happen?!"
Again, this all happened after Robert Downey Jr. appeared on Ellen Degeneres’ talk show and replied "Yes" (twice) when asked if there’d be an Iron Man 4.
His response shocked me. He said "Yes," and not the PR-friendly "Maybe" or "We’ll see." Which is a diplomatic "No." And like I mentioned, this isn’t Robert Downey Jr.’s first press tour. He knows full well how a "Yes," even said in jest, can wag the dog of comic book culture. As we witnessed yesterday just by Downey appearing on two separate talk shows. To promote The Judge, by the way. The Judge. In theaters on Friday. (You’re welcome, Robert.)
So, no Iron Man 4 script, and no Iron Man 4 plans. But we know we will see the hero in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and likely in Avengers 3, whenever that comes out. This story likely will change if RDJ is scheduled to be on The View or The Today Show this morning. Stay tuned.
