It’s hard to keep track of the rumors regarding the future of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Iron Man, because it seems like every time he says that there won’t be an Iron Man 4, he turns around and hints that there will be an Iron Man 4. The big news of the evening is that Downey could be signing on to join the cast of Captain America 3, as Variety reported that he “is in final negotiations” to play Stark in the follow-up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the second post-Avengers: Age of Ultron film (Ant-Man comes out in July 2015), as it is set to hit theaters on May 6, 2016.
While the addition of Downey as Stark and/or Iron Man to any of the Marvel films is huge news, this is apparently playing in to the Marvel Civil War storyline and would have Stark and Steve Rogers facing off in a battle of morality and loyalty.
The deal is significant for the Marvel cinematic universe considering the plot will pit Stark against Captain America’s alter-ego Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, as they feud over the Superhero Registration Act, which forces anyone with superhuman abilities to reveal their identities to the U.S. government and agree to act as a police force for the authorities.
Stark supports the program, but Rogers does not, saying it threatens civil liberties, causing sides to be taken and Rogers, among others, to go on the run to avoid arrest. The moral question and battle with his Avengers teammate essentially makes Stark a villain of sorts in “Captain America 3,” providing Downey with a meaty role he could play out into future Marvel films, including a fourth “Avengers.” (Via Variety)
Between this idea and the rumors that Avengers: Age of Ultron and eventually Doctor Strange are setting up for a sort of passing of the torch in terms of a new set of Earth’s mightiest heroes, I’m having a hard time keeping track of who’s going to be in which movie, and how this guy is going to show up in this movie and those guys are going to appear in the fourth post-credit scene of that movie’s sequel to the prequel. All I know is that Downey signing on for more movies is always a good thing. Long live Tony Stark.