Marvel Says Iron Man Will Return for 'The Avengers 2' But Doesn't Mention If Robert Downey Jr. Will Too

With Iron Man 3 on pace to challenge The Avengers' box office opening numbers, the big question now becomes what happens next with Iron Man's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and whether or not Robert Downey Jr. returns to don the armor again.

Last week, Gwyneth Paltrow claimed that Iron Man 3 would be the last time we'd see Tony Stark, which is just a ridiculously misguided thing to say when you consider how much money the character brings in for Marvel and Disney. Paltrow may be done with the franchise, but Marvel definitely isn't. Downey himself has been poking at the idea of retiring from his superhero days, as his contract is up and negotiations for a new one haven't gotten serious. The actor made roughly $50 million for The Avengers, which is more than Marvel likes to pay its leads but also only a drop in the bucket when you consider how much the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grossed at the box office.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige sat down with SuperHeroHype's Edward Douglas to chat about all aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the subject of Iron Man in The Avengers 2 and the possibility of Iron Man 4 came up. Here's what Feige had to say:

 Currently, as you may imagine, Iron Man is a big part of “Avengers 2” and that’s what we’re focusing on and what Joss (Whedon) is focusing on. So where we go after that remains to be seen, but certainly, “Avengers 2” being the next appearance, the next storyline for Iron Man. Do I think there will be another Iron Man movie? Of course I do. Who will be in that movie and who will be a part of that movie? Who knows? And how far down the line will it be? Will it be right after “Avengers 2,” will it be a few years after “Avengers 2”? Who knows? For as advanced as we are in terms of the advanced planning that we do, we’re already looking out to 2015, 2016 and that’s further than most people look out. Beyond that, we’re still not sure.

While Feige basically confirms that Iron Man will return for The Avengers 2 and Iron Man 4, here's the interesting part of what he had to say: Feige repeatedly refers to the character, but never once says "Robert Downey Jr. is a big part of Avengers 2" or "Of course I there will be another Iron Man movie starring Robert Downey Jr." To me, it seems like Feige is a studio exec ready to move on without his biggest star if he has to. This shouldn't be a surprise though, as Feige has long said that he views the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a continuous story that won't reboot its characters, choosing to recast roles if necessary. They've already done it with Bruce Banner and Rhodey — recasting Tony Stark would be the same thing only on a bigger scale.

At this point, what would make sense for Marvel Studios?

Do you pay whatever you have to bring Downey back for The Avengers 2 and another Iron Man movie? This would allow them to enjoy working with their most bankable star through probably Phase Three of the Cinematic Universe.

Do you bring Downey back to wrap up Phase Two with The Avengers 2, and then introduce a new version of Iron Man in Phase 3? This one seems risky to me, as whoever would follow Downey in the role would have the heavy burden of carrying Iron Man 4 on his own.

The safest route would seem to be recasting the character for The Avengers 2, which would allow fans to become acclimated to the new actor while still having the familiarity of the rest of the Avengers team. By the time Iron Man 4 rolled around, the new Iron Man would already be established. Of course, the downfall of this route would be that Iron Man 3 would be the last time we'd see Downey as Stark.

Marvel has some huge decisions to make with Iron Man. This is the character that launched the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe — can they afford to live without Downey?