‘Iron Man 4’ Will Happen, But Robert Downey Jr. To Be Replaced By A Teenager?
Robert Downey Jr., the actor who made Iron Man immortal on the silver screen, may not reprise his role for the fourth edition of the role. Apparently, the studio appears to be contemplating a prequel of sorts, exploring the formative years of Tony Stark.
The hopes of millions of Robert Downey Jr. fans were seemingly dashed when the 49-year-old actor confirmed there won’t be a fourth sequel to the Iron Man franchise. Interestingly, rumor mills have nonetheless continued to exists that insist that though delayed extensively (2019), there will be Iron Man 4. If that happens, it could mean the veteran actor won’t play the lead character.
Despite the negation of the possibility of Iron Man 4 from Robert Downey Jr. himself, when talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres asked the actor on her show, he reportedly confirmed the possibility of the movie,
“I know there’s going to be a bunch more Marvel movies. And they have big ideas of how to do it best and we’re in the middle of negotiation.”
But instead of Robert Downey Jr. the main role might be portrayed by now 13-years-old TY Simpkins, who managed to closely bond with Iron Man in the third edition. Clearly showing an inclination to be a top-notch engineer with a powerful potato-gun, Simpkins who played the role of Harley Keener, is touted to be either the torch-bearer for the Iron Man or play an earlier, much younger version of Tony Stark.
Young Simpkins, will be 17-years-old, when Iron Man 4 is rumored to hit theaters and is expected to set hearts aflutter just the way Robert Downey Jr. has managed to do now. Though 2019 is a long way off, Simpkins is set to appear in another hugely successful franchise in the meantime. Young Simpkins will appear in Jurassic World.
Though Robert Downey Jr.’s contract with Marvel Studios was said to have ended for Iron Man after the third installment wrapped up, he was later signed on to play Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers 3. This clearly means, Robert is in for the long haul for the movie franchise.
However, Iron Man 3 witnessed the removal of the experimental ‘Arc Reactor’ with the “entirely new element” that Tony Stark himself invents. Hence, the script writers now have the freedom to either pick-up from where Iron Man left in the third installment or even set a completely new tone and timeline. Will Robert Downey Jr. be the main character or not, is perhaps the main question that remains to be answered.
[Image Credit | Marvel Studios, Hypesphere]
