Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 saw Robert Downey, Jr. fulfil his contract with Marvel, having instantly soared to new levels of fame back in 2008 with the release of Iron Man.
Downey, Jr. has become almost synonymous with the character, Tony Stark / Iron Man, and everyone has naturally been waiting with baited breath as to whether or not he would return for future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And now our fears can be put to rest, with the studio officially announcing that he’s inked a two-picture agreement that will see him reprise Stark / Iron Man for The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3.
Of course, the press release below clearly makes no mention whatsoever of a potential Iron Man 4, and whether we see Downey, Jr. back in the suit for another solo movie remains to be seen.
Joss Whedon, who’s writing and will direct The Avengers 2, had previously gone on record saying that he had no intention of making the sequel without Downey, Jr. So, needless to say, we’ve been expecting him to sign on for at least Whedon’s upcoming sequel, and it’s great to see that his contract goes even further beyond that.
As to whether or not he’ll be back for Iron Man 4, I remain undecided. I’d love to see Downey, Jr. take centre stage once more, but Iron Man 3 brought the trilogy to a brilliant close, and it’s always nice to go out on a high.
The press release below notes that we’ll have more casting news on upcoming Marvel movies coming our way ‘in the coming days and weeks and months’, so be sure to come back for more, as we’ll have updates as and when they hit.
The Avengers 2 is set to be released on May 1st, 2015. As of yet, no word on when we can expect The Avengers 3 to hit cinemas, but I’d say there’s a very good chance that it will be the close of Marvel’s Phase Three, which kicks off in Summer 2015 with Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man. And it’s awesome to hear that, whenever it comes, Robert Downey, Jr. will be back.
“I am Iron Man.”
Tony Stark’s famous closing line to the very first Iron Man film takes on new life today as Marvel is pleased to announce the signing of Robert Downey, Jr. to reprise the role of the “billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist.”
Under the two-picture agreement, Downey will star as Tony Stark/Iron Man in “Marvel’s The Avengers 2” and “Marvel’s The Avengers 3.” Downey is represented at CAA by Bryan Lourd, Jim Toth and Matt Leaf and by his attorneys Tom Hansen and Stewart Brookman of the firm Hansen Jacobson.
Downey, Jr.’s last two Marvel films, 2012’s “Marvel’s The Avengers” and this year’s “Iron Man 3,” rank as two of the top five grossing films of all time, collectively earning over $2.7 billion worldwide to date.
“Marvel’s The Avengers 2” is being written and directed by Joss Whedon. Featuring favorites from the first Avengers film and new Marvel characters never before seen on the big screen, “Marvel’s The Avengers 2” is slated to begin production in March 2014 and open in theaters May 1, 2015.
Thrilled by this mega announcement, Marvelites? Well, be sure you stay glued to Marvel.com because in the coming days and weeks and months, Marvel.com will be FIRST in the world to reveal additional casting updates, new characters coming to Marvel movies and so much more — directly from the most secret meetings at Marvel! You wouldn’t want to miss out on that now, would you?!
