Robert Downey Jr. on the Possibility of 'Iron Man 4': 'Why Give Up the Belt?'

If Iron Man 4 were to happen tomorrow, Robert Downey Jr. would not be playing Tony Stark. Under current circumstances, the actor only has a contract with Marvel Studios to play Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Avengers 3. Not only does Marvel not have Iron Man 4 on its schedule, it doesn't have an actor signed to play the title character in that movie.

It's hard to think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe without Downey. Thanks to his performance in the first Iron Man movie, Marvel kicked off a run of almost unparalleled success. With Marvel honcho Kevin Feige already commenting that the role of Tony Stark is like James Bond and could be played by many actors over the years, it's been safe to assume that the next two Avengers movies will be Downey's swan song in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Maybe someone should tell Downey that.

"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 said to Entertainment Weekly. "It’s that thing of: Why give up the belt when it feels like you can barely get jabbed? ... Most people are saying that right when they get knocked out."

Making Iron Man 4 with Downey is easier said than done. He was rumored to have taken home around $50 million for The Avengers and the terms of his most recent two-movie deal with Marvel haven't been disclosed. With a slew of unannounced films on its schedule, hopefully Marvel will use Comic-Con weekend to shed some light on the future of Downey and Iron Man 4.