Marvel Studios may be grappling with some thoughts when it announced that it will have three mystery movies in 2020.
The production outfit has already released its complete lineup of 14 films from next year up to 2020. While the first 11 movies are all identified and accounted for from next year until 2019, the three movies in 2020 remain anonymous.
There are speculations that one of the three mystery Marvel movies in 2020 is “Iron Man 4.” From a business standpoint, “Iron Man 4” is important because of the huge success of “Iron Man 3” which is currently the 9th highest-grossing movie of all time with its $1.215 billion worldwide box-office haul.
While there have been rumors that the main issue of whether there will be an “Iron Man 4” or not is dependent on the supposedly ongoing negotiations between Marvel and actor Robert Downey Jr. over the issue of salary, the more astute Marvel movie enthusiast think otherwise, notes the Christian Post.
Money is not an issue
They believe that money is not an issue with Marvel Studios as they have in fact paid Robert Downey Jr. a cool $80 million for his role in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that was shown in April this year. That’s a 60% increment from his $50 million salary for doing “Iron Man 3” back in 2013.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” also made it to the roster of the all-time highest grossing movies at the No. 6 spot with its $1.405 billion box-office haul.
So in movies that Marvel invested a good amount of money on Robert Downey Jr., the production outfit actually got good returns.
Thus, it is no wonder that Marvel will be paying him $40 million as part of the “Captain America: Civil War” movie showing in May next year. The production company believes that they can certainly recoup their investment as the film is also expected to break into the list of all-time highest grossing movies, cites Crossmap.
Toying with the expansion idea
The bigger issue that Marvel Studios is grappling with is actually the possible expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if and when they decide to have an “Iron Man 4” movie.
As can be gleaned from the movie lineup of the production company, each superhero shall be entitled to three movies apiece or a trilogy. So far, only Iron Man has completed his trilogy. The next two superheroes expected to complete their trilogies are Captain America and Thor.
The rest have yet to have their first movies like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and a few more.
Ant-Man already had his own solo movie ahead of the usual Avengers cast, but the decision of Marvel on that one has something more to do with bankability. There is even a sequel of Ant-Man in the Marvel lineup already. The Hulk, who is a major superhero among the Avengers, has yet to have his solo movie.
Interestingly, the Black Panther and Doctor Strange will have their respective solo movies ahead of the Avengers mainstays.
The Spider-Man reboot to be shown in July 2017 is a good move because if there is one Marvel superhero that deserves a trilogy, it is the web-slinging superhero.
So if Marvel decides to make an “Iron Man 4,” then they will have no other choice but to also come up with a “Captain America 4” or “Thor 4” or “Spider-Man 4” sometime in the distant future.
It may be good to some extent as the expansion of the MCU would also ensure the sustainability of the whole Marvel Avengers franchise, but the production company is also faced with the reality that actors age. They also have to contend with the fact that fans also get tired of constant servings of superhero movies especially in light of the decision of DC and Warner Bros to give Marvel a run for their money starting next year.
Apparently, the upcoming release of the new comic book series “The Invincible Iron Man” by Brian Michael Bendis, in cooperation with Alex Maleev, had fans speculating that the comic book could serve as the springboard for the possible plotline for “Iron Man 4.”
The most interesting plot on the upcoming Iron Man comic book series is the possibility of Tony Stark falling for the ex-girlfriend of Peter Parker, Mary Jane (MJ) Watson.
Great article, there are a few things I personally disagree with, though:
1.) Tge fact that the highest grossing hero in the universe, played by the most charismatic actor of the bunch, may get a 4th film does NOT force the studio into making 4th films for the other heroes. Iron Man is the lynchpin of the MCU, thus far, and the question facing Marvel is more “Do we continue to milk this cow or let IM go out on top?”
2.) Hulk does have a solo film. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. Many believed the film to be stricken from record because of poor reception. Proof that the film is in fact part of MCU continuity is the fact that good ol’ Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross is showing up again in ‘Captain America: Civil War’
3.) MJ absolutely cannot make a good love interest in Iron Man 4. Here is why:
In the books, the concept works because the characters are all adults. Yes there is an age difference, but since they are all self supporting adults presumably over 25, it’s not as creep as…
…in the MCU where Parker is reportedly 13-15 years old. Even if he dated out of his league (face it tiger) MJ would at most be 17. Unless Civil War is based on Stark’s support of new legislation that makes it legal for a 45 year old to have intimate relations with a minor, then no way does this see the light of the silver screen ANYTIME soon.
MJ Watson absolutely would not make a good love interest for Tony Stark. That would be weird and stupid if they became a couple in Iron Man 4. MJ would only be like 17 or 18 and Tony would be like 52 or 53 in Iron Man 4. Marvel Studios would never let that happen. Tony Stark cannot be replaced by Harley Keener. Tony Stark should be the only Iron Man. Iron Man 4 wouldn’t be a successful film if some stupid kid like Harley became Iron Man. Robert Downey jr. can’t be replaced, especially by some stupid kid. Iron Man (Robert Downey jr.) needs to face the “real” Mandarin in Iron Man 4. The Ten Rings also need to return in Iron Man 4. Iron Man needs to kill ALL of the Ten Rings soldiers this time in Iron Man 4. Iron Man deserves a quadrilogy. That last Iron Man film, Iron Man 3, really sucked. People should be getting really tired of superheroes only getting trilogies. Trilogies are getting really old and clichéd. Captain America, Thor, and Ant-Man don’t need 4th solo films, only Iron Man and Spider-Man deserve fourth solo films. Captain America, Thor, and Ant-Man are better off with only trilogies. Iron Man and Spider-Man only truly deserve quadrilogies. Iron Man 4 should have the “real” Mandarin as the villain of the movie. Marvel’s Spider-Man 4 should have Carnage as the villain of the movie. Hulk already had his own solo film in the MCU, dumbass. It’s called The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is part of the MCU, dumbass. Just because Ed Norton was (sadly) replaced by Mark Ruffalo, doesn’t mean that The Incredible was not canon to the rest of the MCU films. William Hurt is returning as General Thaddeus E. “Thunderolt” Ross in Captain America: Civil War. But the Hulk does definitely deserve solo film sequels. The Hulk needs to get his own sequel at least by 2020. It should be one of those three mystery Marvel movies in 2020. It should be the one in November, 2020. It’s not fair that he’s the only one without a sequel. Marvel and Disney just need to stop being stupid, selfish, and greedy, and just pair up with Universal and share the profits with them already so us Hulk fans can see another Hulk solo film. It’ll take a long time before the Hulk solo film distribution rights revert back to Marvel. By the way, Black Widow and Hawkeye absolutely do NOT deserve their own solo films. They’re both lame characters.