10 Behind-The-Scenes Issues That Could End The MCU
2. Audience Rejection Of Replacement Actors
Robert Downey Jr. is so good at playing Tony Stark that it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. But Avengers 4 is the last movie he is contracted to play Iron Man in, and there are no official plans to make Iron Man 4. Which brings up the nearly unthinkable possibility: can the MCU survive without Downey Jr. as Iron Man?
While audiences had little issue with Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard as James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (and eventually War Machine) or Mark Ruffalo replacing Ed Norton as the Hulk, could the same be said when its time for Robert Downey Jr. to be replaced as Tony Stark, Chris Evans to be replaced as Steve Rogers, and Tom Hiddleston replaced as Loki? While there have been multiple actors who have played Batman and Superman, in the case of Downey Jr. and Evans they will have far longer associations with their characters than any actors who ever played Batman or Superman.
The fact that many of the principal Marvel actors contracts run out with Avengers 4 means that Marvel might have to replace many well-known actors with new faces in a short period of time. Fans may not choose to keep following a team of unrecognisable Avengers or an Avengers team made up of second or third-tier characters.