Marvel Studios President Doesn't Sound Confident in Robert Downey Jr. Continuing as IRON MAN After AVENGERS 3

Time and age can be a problem when you're talking about an actor and a long term movie franchise. This seems to be the case with Robert Downey Jr. and his portrayal of Tony Stark and Iron Man. This is something Marvel Studios should've seen coming back when they cast him in the role before the 2008 release of Iron Man but who would've thought the studios' first film would lead into one of the largest franchises in film history.

Today, Marvel is at the point where they have not only helped Downey turn his career around to being one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood today, but they look to be nearing a point in their own movie franchise universe where things cannot continue on as-is forever. With Downey, he fulfilled his initial contract with Marvel. After paying the actor dump trucks full of cash for The Avengers and Iron Man 3, Marvel is lucky to have resigned the actor to play Iron Man for two more movies (Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers 3).

Marvel will have a chance to close out the story of Tony Stark with Downey in the role. And Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige seems to have implied (to Collider) what everyone doesn't want to hear and that's that Downey's days are nearing an end as Stark after Avengers 3. The character will either be replaced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with another actor or replaced with another hero (cough, cough Doctor Strange) altogether, who will assume the mantle of being the lead character in Marvel's movie-verse.

"I’ve said it before and it wasn’t negotiating tactics. I believe Tony Stark is as strong a character as Batman We’re about to head into our fifth or sixth Batman—however, you wanna look at it—James Bond, etc. So, there will absolutely be future Tony Starks and future Iron Mans. Who makes those movies, and when those movies are made, who knows? I don’t know. But, the notion with Robert’s contract in The Avengers 2 and 3, is to allow new characters. Part of what we love about The Avengers is the shifting roster. That’s what’s fun about the comic book movies. You shift them up. So, certainly that was a lot of the thought process that went into it."

Based on Feige's comment, it sounds like things will move in another direction from Downey as Stark after The Avengers 3. Yeah that's reading between the lines but it sounds like that's the plan per the studio president.


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