2. To Recast Or Not Recast?
Comic book Tony Stark can't call up Stan Lee and say, "Hey. It's been fun, but I want to move on to other things," and get up and leave. He's a comic book character who doesn't age and is permanently on a page. Film Tony Stark (a.k.a. Robert Downey, Jr.) CAN say to Kevin Feige, "Look. I'm sick of you playing hard ball with me and my fellow cast members. I want out," and get up and leave. Also, all of the actors involved with these films do age because they are human beings just like you and me. This raises a rather interesting problem for Marvel. Unlike other film franchises, I suspect they want to keep their characters going and going for a very long time. If all of a sudden, Marvel's poster boy Tony Stark just stopped showing up in Marvel Studios movies, people would think that's weird. If Captain America stopped making appearances once Chris Evans' contract expires, people would think that's weird. So when the time comes (and it has already come with RDJ), the studio will have to make a choice. Do they bring back the Phase I group in limited roles (such as cameos) or do they consider everyone disposable and recast? And if they do recast, how will casual audiences respond? Or do they make the bold decision and kill off characters? Films aren't like comic books. An actor is just as vital to creating a character as the writer. RDJ embodies Tony Stark in a way that he's synonymous with the role. Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner was well-liked. It's important to not just keep these guys happy (addressed in Point 3), but to keep them around for continuity's sake. Fans seem to enjoy the current group of actors Marvel has. It would be extremely risky to mess around with that and recast, which has the potential to alienate audiences.