Fans of the “Iron Man” franchise are used to certain details about its plot that don’t change from one movie to the next, but it looks like there might be some more drastic changes coming soon, according to some recent rumors. If the next film does come out eventually – which is still under question for many fans – it could replace Robert Downey Jr. with someone else, although we don’t know who could fill in for the actor or what the implications of that could be for the plot.
There is just one rumor in this regard, one that claims that the new actor is actually going to be Ty Simpkins, who is currently 13 years old – and that could bring some interesting changes to the overall setup of the film. “Iron Man 4” is rumored to be scheduled for a release around 2019, so that would make Simpkins 17-18 years old by the time the film comes out. Of course, we don’t know when the actual filming would take place, which will be an important detail itself.
Ty Simpkins has already proven that he can handle some more interesting roles rather well, and film fans have had multiple chances to see him in action already. He would be even more mature by the time “Iron Man 4” comes out, and it would be interesting to see how his acting has progressed and what kind of attitude he can bring to the screen and to the franchise as a whole.
However, not many people are convinced that these rumors are true. According to some critics, Simpkins might be a good actor but he’s not quite the kind of personality that Marvel are looking for in order to replace the person who plays Iron Man. There are various arguments against the possibility of seeing him in the next film, and not all of them are directly related to Simpkins himself.
Some are claiming that the success of the franchise as a whole relies on the performance of Robert Downey Jr. specifically, and that without the actor’s iconic presence on the screen the films wouldn’t be that prominent in the industry. While that might be true, it doesn’t mean that Downey is irreplaceable, although it does mean that Marvel have to be extra careful with who they’re picking for the role instead of him.
It’s also possible that the studio has decided to make some more unusual changes to the plot of the film that would necessitate a replacement of the main actor, and that could open the doors to many possibilities for replacing the original Iron Man. Of course, Marvel have been trying to follow the plot of the original “Iron Man” plot and canon as best as possible, so they are obviously not going to stray too far away from what we are already familiar with. At the same time, we do expect them to do some experiments with the plot and setting of the films.
As for Robert Downey Jr., the problem with him seems to boil down to money for the most part. The actor is apparently not very happy with the idea of how much he was paid in the last film, at least if he is to reprise his role, so he has reportedly asked for a bigger compensation but failed to reach an acceptable middle ground with the studio in the end. Because of this, he was denied the role and they are now looking for someone else to give it to.
Come on Marvel, just pay that greedy money-loving pig already! Don’t replace Robert Downey jr.! He IS Iron Man. No one else should take his place! Why does RDJ want so much money anyway? Just sign up for Iron Man 4 already, Robert! We need to see you fight the REAL Mandarin this time! JUST DO IT!!!