With Iron Man 3 landing, excitement is at fever pitch. Yet with all the yelling and squealing by press and fans a like, things could take a more disappointing turn once the dust settles on this movie. Robert Downey Jr.'s contract with Marvel Studios is going to be up after The Avengers 2's release in 2014 and it is not entirely clear if he intends to come back to the franchise as Tony Stark for future movies. Add on top of that the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle have gone on record to say that they don't expect there to be an Iron Man 4.... could the future look bleak for the franchise in this incarnation? Of course Downey Jr and his co-stars could be playing it smart in order to negotiate a better deal to see out the decade as these characters but this is a bridge that is going to need to be crossed at some point. Downey Jr is certainly not getting any younger and with one of the key differences between the film and comics medium being the ravages of time on live-action physical incarnations, it's going to catch up with Marvel Studios at some point. Films are tied to reality. We can't have seventy years of a character being played by the same actor. This was an inevitable problem that has somewhat blindsided most of us up until this point. But let's just keep this to Iron Man for now. It is highly likely that he will be the most complicated instance of this in the Marvel Movieverse. Will they make a conscious acknowledgement of the fact that we have a new Iron Man or are we going to just seal over the cracks? Lets explore the options...
5. Tony Stark Could Die
This is a really interesting option and one that could go in conjunction with a few other solutions on this list. Robert Downey Jr. is a massive part of the Marvel Movieverse. It could be argued if it wasn't for his casting and the success of the first movie, not only would The Avengers not happened but we may not yet have even seen original movies for the likes of Thor and Captain America. Tony Stark was a character Downey Jr was perfect for and one of the reasons that the first Iron Man was such a big hit. My point is that Marvel owe him a lot. Allowing his version of Tony Stark to exist rather than just be recast could be a a tribute to his work for the company and for the role. And what better way to let him go than with a bang? By letting Tony Stark die a dignified death that serves deep narrative purposes for the universe, they can really use that as a legacy that could help mould, shape and guide the Movieverse. If Robert Downey Jr's last appearance as Tony Stark is in The Avengers 2, expect the speculation to start. It would certainly bring a downer to the super team sequel and give the franchise the 'darker and defeated' installment in the vein of Empire Strikes Back. However, we don't necessarily have to play the dead card for Tony Stark's legacy to go on if the Marvel did decide to let the character stay with Robert Downey Jr....