‘Iron Man 4’: Robert Downey Jr. Creates Confusing Sequel Rumors, Will Jim Rhodes Be Tony Stark’s Replacement?

Iron Man 4 has the Marvel rumor mill looking more like a pinball machine with answers from Robert Downey Jr. bouncing all over the place. So is the Iron Man 4 release date a yes or no? It’s more like a maybe, although it’s possible Marvel may look to comic book history to make Jim Rhodes the Iron Man replacement.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, while a standalone Iron Man 4 movie is uncertain, the Iron Man character is certainly going to be seen in upcoming Marvel movies. It’s said that Robert Downey Jr. is set to invade Captain America 3 as a major part of the story line, and other rumors claim this plot will be focused on the Marvel Civil War storyline from 2006 and 2007.

The idea that Iron Man 4 might actually get produced was given a boost when Downey Jr. made an appearance on The Ellen Show and she directly asked him whether there was going to be a fourth Iron Man movie. Marvel fans were given immediate hope by the answer.

“I know there’s going to be a bunch of Marvel movies and they have big ideas of how to do it best. You know we’re in the middle of negotiations…”

When Downey Jr. hesitated, Ellen prompted him by saying, “So, yes?” He replied, “OK. Yes…yes.”

Downey Jr. also once claimed he would only do Iron Man 4 if Mel Gibson would be the director in an interview with Deadline.

“Marvel badly wants Iron Man 4 and you’ve said you aren’t doing it. How about the idea you’ll do that movie if Mel directs it?” Deadline asked.

“Correct,” Downey answered. “The movie will be bananas.”

But Downey then backpedaled on that answer, explaining it away as an offhand remark.

“It was an offhanded remark to a journalist and friend. I have another project in mind for Mel and I-sooner than later the Marvel Roster will be made public and all the questions will be answered.”

The situation became even more confusing when Downey showed up on The David Letterman Show only to claim that Iron Man 4, or something related to it, will be made but that Downey Jr. was unlikely to be part of that particular project.

“There’s no plans for an Iron Man 4,” Downey said. “There’s no script for an Iron Man 4, but [Marvel] does have a plan and I think [Marvel is] going to announce it … they’ve been very secretive about it. Just between us, no. But I’m going to do other stuff with Marvel. I’m still going to be involved with Marvel, and there’s going to be plenty of fun stuff to happen.”

That “other stuff” is apparently Captain America 3 and the Marvel Civil War. To get the full background on that history read the article, but it’s very possible the movie plot will diverge greatly from the comics. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. is running on fumes in the TV show, which makes it kind of unlikely the Superhero Registration Act would require to register themselves with an organization the U.S. government isn’t exactly on friendly term with at the moment.

The other key issue is that the Robert Downey Jr. version of Iron Man publicly revealed himself as a superhero. In the comics, Iron Man was always this unknown “bodyguard” for Tony Stark, who generally tried to play it coy like Batman. In 1993, the Iron Man #169 issue had the playboy billionaire becoming an alcoholic incapable of being Iron Man anymore. That’s when Jim Rhodes threw on the suit and became Iron Man for almost three years of the comic book releases. It was not until issue #200 that Tony Stark once again took back the mantle of Iron Man. But then 10 years later Rhodes once again temporarily became Iron Man again when it was briefly believed Tony Stark had been killed (he wasn’t). This would not be the last time Rhodes would don the red and yellow suit, but in general he’s been mostly known as War Machine in the comics.

Back in the movie version, James Rhodes is already played by Don Cheadle for both Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron, which makes finding an Iron Man replacement easy. That is, assuming Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t change his mind once again and Iron Man 4 ever makes its way to the big screen.

Only Marvel knows if they are considering going that direction if they do decide to do an Iron Man 4. But from all accounts it sounds like the focus will be on the movies coming out for the next five years, so if a screenplay is written for Iron Man 4 it’s always possible it’ll be changed many times. In the meantime, there’s always the rumor mill.