After so much talk about “Iron Man 4” and the future of the franchise, it looks like things are still far from being finalized with the production, and a lot is not known, including major details like the involvement of Robert Downey Jr. There has been a lot of speculation about whether or not we are going to see the actor in the new film, and most of the talks about him tend to paint the situation in a bad light, implying that he could not reach an agreement with the producers, but of course this is all just a rumor and we have no idea what the situation really is like behind the scenes.
One thing is certain right now though – the film is not coming anytime soon, and it will be a while before we even see any official discussions about it. It’s not even clear if the franchise will get a straight continuation, as there are also some minor rumors that the producers might be looking to branch it off into multiple new directions. Indeed, there are lots of possibilities for how “Iron Man 4” could be developed further at this point, and it would be interesting to see where things go.
There have been some talks about a possible prequel, one that shows the story of Tony Stark before he got to where he is, and this could also lend some credibility to the rumors that Robert Downey Jr. is not going to act in the new film. If his character will be shown from a different, younger perspective, he of course could be replaced, with multiple different options for who could take his place.
What is the reason for all these delays and issues though? We aren’t quite sure, and knowing the nature of major Hollywood productions like this one, the truth may never be officially revealed, but there have been certain rumors that Robert Downey Jr. hasn’t been able to agree with the producers on how much he should get paid. The actor reportedly insisted on a pay raise, one that was seen as inappropriate by the people behind the film, and the discussions eventually fell apart.
On the other hand, Downey’s age could also be becoming an issue at this point, as he would be a bit older by the time the next film will be supposedly shot, and even if we disregard the idea of a prequel, he would still be unsuitable for the role he’s supposed to represent. With that in mind, it could make sense that Marvel are looking in a new direction for the actor to represent Iron Man, but we have no idea who they might go with, nor how the new film would be structured if that turned out to be true. Marvel have a lot of creative freedom at their disposal right now and there’s a lot they could do with the franchise if they wanted to, and they will most likely take advantage of their ability to experiment right now.
It’s interesting to see how different the tone of the discussion is between the franchise’s producers and its fans. People who love “Iron Man” seem disappointed by the possibility of Downey’s removal, and many seem to refuse to accept that a new film could come out without their favorite actor, or even worse with someone else taking his very same role. Could this drag down the popularity of the franchise enough to be threatening?
Yes it would be threatening if another actor played as Iron Man in Iron Man 4. Robert Downey Jr. needs to play as Iron Man and Tony Stark one last time in Iron Man 4 so we can see Iron Man (RDJ) fight The “real” Mandarin.
Bottom Line: MCU is notoriously stingy with their salaries. RDJ is smart enough to know what he is worth. End result, MCU better give it up because there is no Iron Man without Robert Downey Jr. I and many others will walk away if RDJ is “replaced.”