The completion of Iron Man 3, as everybody knows, signals the end of Robert Downey Jr.’s contract with Marvel to play Iron Man. We all knew that this day would come, and we promised ourselves that we wouldn’t cry, and we really hate ourselves for it, but it’s time we faced facts: Iron Man can’t go on forever.
We all wish it could. We all wish we could get periodical visits from a crazy uncle Tony, the obnoxious billionaire psychopath who made a rocket suit to kill people with. He’s always so much fun!
Robert Downey Jr. has made no bones about the fact that his agreement has ended, talking about phase two of his contract, and how he’ll still be around for The Avengers 2, and that he still loves you and you’ll see him every other weekend, promise, but it’s just not the same. He has stated categorically that he doesn’t know if there will be an Iron Man 4, or if he can even physically keep up with the demands of being so smug and yet so adorable at the same time.
Even Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, isn’t sure if he can cajole the actor into appearing in The Avengers 2, suggesting that somebody else might just take the role, telling Badass Digest:
“I think Bond is a good example. Let’s put it this way: I hope Downey makes a lot of movies for us as Stark. If and when he doesn’t, and I’m still here making these movies, we don’t take him to Afghanistan and have him wounded again. I think we James Bond it.”
It’s difficult to see how such an iconic role could ever be played by any other actor, but then again, people said that about The Joker after Jack Nicholson’s performance. But just hire another actor for the sequel? Could that work? Doesn’t Robert Downey Jr. love us anymore, was it something we did? If you’re out there Robert, please leave a comment below. We can change.
