For a brief amount of time, fans were worried that Robert Downey Jr. would not return as Tony Stark in any of the future Marvel movies and that his role would be re-cast. He had been holding out for more money, not for himself, but for his Avengers co-stars who were getting paid much less than he was. Now it looks like a deal has been worked out though as Downey Jr. has signed on to return as Iron Man once again for The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3.
There seems to be no more solo Iron Man films in the works under this new agreement, which isn’t surprising as the character’s arc felt like it had concluded in Iron Man 3 and another film is unnecessary right now. It’s time for the other heroes to shine. That said, Tony Stark will be there when the world (and fans) need him as he’s returning for the next two Avengers movies.
I can’t say I was ever too worried about this. I mean, surely Marvel wasn’t dumb enough to let go of Robert Downey Jr., right? Joss Whedon’s encouraging words about the situation were also a reassurance that everything would turn out okay.
The only thing to worry about now is how Tony Stark will get along with his new teammates, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. That, and who the villain in The Avengers 2 is because Whedon isn’t giving us any hints. The only thing we do know is that Loki will not be returning.
The other thing to note is that a third movie is indeed happening (like anyone didn’t expect that) and according to Marvel, there’s more big news coming soon, especially since San Diego Comic-Con is around the corner.
Were you ever worried that Robert Downey Jr. was leaving Marvel, and are you sad that there are no immediate Iron Man movie plans? Let us know in the comments.
