He added that he recognizes that he will be turning 50 by the time he promotes the “Iron Man 4” movie. He explained that the clock is ticking down on the number of memories and participation that he would allow himself and not embarrass the medium with.
Downey’s statements seem to prove notions that he will perhaps relinquish the role and allow Marvel Studios to re-cast Tony Stark or simply do what the comic books do which is having someone else other than Tony Stark stepping in to be Iron Man.
There have been previous reports saying that the someone else could be Ty Simpkins, who played Harley Keener in “Iron Man 3.” Critics believe that Simpkins may be old enough by 2019 to star as the new Iron Man.
And finally, there is also the issue of money. Robert Downey Jr. is the highest-paid actor for three years running now and it will surely cost Disney and Marvel a huge amount of money if he takes on the character one more time for “Iron Man 4” sometime in the future. While it would not be a problem for the entertainment conglomerate to shell out whatever RDJ’s asking fee is going to be, good business sense still dictates that the bigger the bottom line or the net profit, the better it is always going to be for an enterprise.