Robert Downey Jr.‘sIron Manis arguably the foundation of the massively successfulMarvel Cinematic Universe, which is about to kick offPhase 3withCaptain America: Civil Warnext month. While the character has already rounded out his individual trilogy withIron Man 3, many have wondered what will happen with Tony Stark afterAvengers: Infinity War Part IandAvengers: Infinity War Part I, which will bring to a close a big part of the MCU as a whole.Robert Downey Jr.returns inCaptain America: Civil War, but the actor hasn’t been confirmed for any movie beyond that, although he is expected to show up in at least one of theInfinity Warmovies. In a recent interview with Forbes,Captain America: Civil Warand Avengers: Infinity War directorJoe Russoteased that it would be “almost impossible” to replaceRobert Downey Jr., and there is only one way his Iron Man character could be rebooted.
“It’s almost impossible to replaceRobert, he’s the biggest movie star in the world. One close up fromRobertis worth another actor’s entire performance, he’s incredibly gifted and insanely talented. I think if and when he is done with the character I think you will find thatIron Manmight disappear for a while. I think the only way that you could reboot that character is to give a generational gap that would allow another actor to at least have a chance to redefine that character without the enormous spectre ofRoberthanging over it. There are so many characters in theMarveluniverse that can pick up the ball and run without it through the next phase or two before you need to see Iron Man again, frankly.”
There has long been talk aboutIron Man 4, withRobert Downey Jr.first teasing that the movie will happen onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showback in October 2014. However, later that same day, he appeared onLate Show with David Lettermanwhere he shot down the rumor he started, stating there are no plans for the movie, but that there is a big Marvel announcement coming. Just a few weeks later, the studio laid out their plans forPhase 3at a Los Angeles press event, where they announcedCaptain America: Civil Warfor the first time.
Joe Russo’s brother and directorial partnerAnthony Russoalso teased in the interview that there has been “talk of recasting key roles like Iron Man,” but it isn’t known how serious those talks truly are. If that does happen, it wouldn’t be the first time that Marvel has recast a role.Don Cheadlereplaced original Iron Man starTerrence Howardas Rhodey, andMark RuffaloreplacedThe Incredible HulkstarEdward Nortonas The Green Goliath. However, recasting a pivotal character like Tony Stark/Iron Man would certainly raise some eyebrows.
While Iron Man is expected to appear in at least one of the Avengers: Infinity War movies, the directors teased in January that the two-part adventure will focus on secondary characters, meaning some of the major characters may take a back seat. The filmmakers didn’t mention any specific names, but it’s possible that Tony Stark, Captain America and other major players could take a back seat to the stars who will go on to be featured inPhase Four. Do you think Iron Man should be recast or rebooted anytime in the near future?
