Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man 4?

By Reggie's Take on July 24, 2014

At the conclusion of Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark seemed to be all wrapped up, but recent remarks by Downey himself seems to be leaving the door open for a return.

Robert Downey Jr. recently talked with Entertainment Weekly during a break in the filming of Avengers 2. Downey was asked point blank if he was interested in returning for a fourth Iron Man movie.

“It’s down to Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president and Ike Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and that’s on us to agree or disagree. When things are going great, there’s a lot of agreement.” Said Downey.

Now that’s not an out right yes, but it’s also not a no either. After Iron Man 3, Disney and Marvel were able to resign the actor, but only for Avengers 2 & 3. There was nothing in that agreement pertaining to a fourth Iron Man movie.

The three Iron Man movies are Marvel’s biggest non-Avengers property. Iron Man 3 brought in well over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and became the 5th top grossing movie of all-time.

Forbes this week listed Downey as the highest-paid actor in the world, having earned $75 million over the past year.

“Right now, this has just been swell, hasn’t it? This has been a really good one and it feels good and we’re having a good time.” Downey referring to the filming of the 2nd Avengers movie.

Disney and Marvel have made it well known they see the character of Tony Stark as a James Bond type. Disney will at some point have to way the cost of Downey’s salary to the potential revenue a 4th Iron Man movie would bring in and decide if Robert Downey Jr. is worth the price.

Iron Man 3 / Marvel

Until the time comes when a decision is made by Disney, Marvel and Downey himself that he’s happy to hold on to the iron mask. “It’s that thing of: Why give up the belt when it feels like you can barely get jabbed?”

It’s possible Disney and Marvel could announce at Comic-Con that a 4th Iron Movie will be filling one of the six release dates they have recently announced over the past week. Anything is possible at Comic-Con, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Reggie’s Take:
Is Robert Downey Jr. worth the price to bring him back for a 4th Iron Man movie?

The honest answer is yes. I think he’s worth the risk of bringing back for a fourth time. With the right script and right director a 4th Iron Man movie could be successful.

With that being said Disney and Marvel have to consider their long terms plans for the Tony Stark character, for instance.

Do they want Iron Man 4 to begin a new trilogy for Tony Stark?

Would they be okay with Iron Man 4 being a self-contained story knowing Downey could then up and call it quits afterwards?

If they want Iron Man 4 to begin a set of three more movies then you would think they’d want the same actor for all three. If Robert Downey Jr. is unwilling to commit to another set of three then maybe they should consider someone else for the role.

But if Disney and Marvel are okay with making one Iron Movie at a time as they can with Downey in the lead then by all means you try and keep him.