Anyone who’s been actively following a film franchise at some point in their lives knows that you don’t really need an official confirmation to know when something is coming up in your favorite production. Information usually manages to make its way to the public one way or another, and it often does so long before any official revelation is made. The future of the “Iron Man” franchise has been under question for some time now, and while nothing is officially confirmed about a possible sequel, there have been some rumors that the next installment is already being negotiated.
Recent reports indicated that Robert Downey Jr. is already in the process of negotiating the next “Iron Man” movie, although the ones who leaked the information couldn’t give any specific details about what exactly was being negotiated behind the scenes. The actor has been quite busy with other projects lately, so some have voiced their concerns about the legitimacy of the rumors about “Iron Man 4”.
The president of Marvel, Kevin Feige, has been rather cryptic with his messages to the fans regarding a possible sequel as well – the last he said was that the studio was hard at work finishing “Avengers 2”, and they have quite a lot on their plate. According to his statement, what will happen afterwards is not yet set in stone, so he didn’t want to give fans any false hopes for the future of the franchise.
If one thing is certain, it’s that the movie will not come out before 2019, even if it’s already being made in secret somehow. Marvel have a lot scheduled for the next three years, and it seems impossible that they can squeeze in “Iron Man 4” between everything else. Plus, it won’t make too much sense from a business point of view, as there will be too many overlaps in the releases, which could drag down the popularity of each one.
Feige himself stated that 2019 is the earliest that the studio is prepared to talk about “Iron Man 4”, as he wants to complete the current projects they’re handling first. Of course, if a new film is being made, fans will likely get news of it long before 2019. It would make sense for Marvel to start hyping up the audience a good while before the film is actually released. Until that happens though, fans who want to know what’s coming up in the “Iron Man” franchise should keep an eye on Robert Downey Jr. and his assistants for any potential rumors or leaks. It’s no official confirmation, but it’s the best everyone is going to get for a long while.