Online rumors are starting to look like wine – they get better with age. That seems to be the case now with the long-rumored “Iron Man 4” movie.
Sometime late in 2014, in a guesting appearance on the talk show of Ellen DeGeneres, actor Robert Downey Jr. confirmed that Marvel has no plan for a fourth “Iron Man” movie, saying it is not in the cards of the production studio.
However, in April, just before the release of “Captain America: Civil War,” Robert Downey Jr. changed his tune and said that he would like to do one more “Iron Man” movie before he finally gives up the character.
What is clear at this time is that RDJ as Tony Stark / Iron Man will appear on the big screen once every year until 2019. Next year, he will be joining Tom Holland in the latter’s stand-alone movie “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” In 2018, he will be in “Avengers: Infinity War Part 1,” and in 2019, he will be again in “Avengers: Infinity War Part 2.”
Marvel Studios has not stated anything official about “Iron Man 4.” Although Robert Downey Jr. appears intent on doing one more movie for the character before he decides to give up the iron suit, the actor has also been realistic that he may no longer be able to grind it with his ripe age.
In a previous interview, the world’s highest-paid actor for three years running said that the clock is already ticking on a number of memories and participation that he would allow himself to do without embarrassing the medium.
Recasting the role
That being said, there are now speculations that Marvel Studios may already recast the role if and when it finally decides to do an “Iron Man 4.”
It is no longer news because as early as 2014, there have been reports that Ty Simpkins, who played as Harley Keener in “Iron Man 3,” shall be taken in as the next actor to play Iron Man. The reports eventually turned out to be false.
Currently, there are rumors and theories going around saying that a member of the Avengers could step into the iron suit and the absurd rumors actually point that it is going to be a woman this time around.
Reports have it that it would be Natasha Romanoff, also known as the Black Widow, played by actress Scarlett Johansson, who shall be donning the iron suit for “Iron Man 4,” reports MNR Daily.
However, the theory is based on events that happened in Marvel’s “Ultimate line of comic books. In the comic books, Tony Stark made Natasha her very own Iron Man armor as a present when they were dating each other. But their relationship soured because Natasha turned out to be the traitor working against the Ultimates. In fact, it was Natasha who killed Tony’s beloved butler, Jarvis.
The move to make the Black Widow the new Iron Man will allow Marvel Studios to fulfill its promise to give the character her own stand-alone film without having to take any kind of financial risk in the box-office.
However, all these remain as speculations pending the confirmation from Marvel Studios.
Still plenty left in his tank
Meanwhile, the biggest question back then as regards the possibility of an “Iron Man 4” film was the age of Robert Downey Jr., who has been playing Tony Stark and Iron Man since 2008.
The actor is now 51 years old and given the release dates of “Avengers: Infinity War Part 1” and “Avengers: Infinity War Part 2” in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the earliest that he can do an “Iron Man 4” film will be in 2019. He will be 54 years old by then.
At 54, he may no longer be as agile and as sturdy as he is now but upon seeing himself as a 20-year-old in “Captain America: Civil War,” Robert Downey Jr. suddenly realized that there is still plenty left in his tank to possibly do an “Iron Man 4.”
There is a cool scene at the beginning of “Captain America: Civil War” where Tony Stark used some sort of technology to relive his last conversation with his parents before they died.
Not only did the scene feature two different Tony Starks in the same shot, it also wowed audiences with a spot-on recreation of RDJ’s 1980s appearance via Tony’s younger self.
It was actually the work of “Captain America: Civil War” visual effects supervisor Dan DeLeeuw who said that the mid-80’s Downey roles back in the 80s played a part in its re-creation. He said that his team collated Downey’s looks from the 1985 sci-fi comedy film “Weird Science,” the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield farce “Back to School,” and the 1987 drug-addiction melodrama “Less Than Zero” to design the younger Tony Stark.
After the box-office success of “Captain America: Civil War,” Robert Downey Jr. was quoted as saying that he is now open to the possibility of doing an “Iron Man 4” and he wants Mel Gibson to direct the film, if ever. Gibson is currently directing the wartime drama “Hacksaw Ridge.”
It was actually Director Shane Black, the “Iron Man 3” director who revealed that RDJ wants Mel Gibson for “Iron Man 4,” cites Movie News Guide.
Black said that Mel was great to Robert Downey Jr. and he has been really nice to a lot of people. The “Braveheart” actor is also a great guy who understands that his new directing project is actually quite interesting.