3. Passing On The Suit
It would seem a shame to keep all those expensive and glitzy Iron Man suits laying around and gathering dust. If they did want to keep Downey Jnr's Iron Man within the canon of the movieverse, it would be a completely viable option to let a new character entirely take on the Iron Man persona. We have seen it before in countless comic bookss, where the main protagonist leaves the spotlight to pass the mantle on to another character. Several people have taken on the Batman persona, as well as Spider-Man and Green Lantern. We have even seen this happen in films in the past. Even while it was clearly designed to end the story, Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises ended on this note. By having a new character take on the guise of a superhero, we get the resolution of the character we have followed, thus completing the thematic arch of the character which movies are built around, while still allowing the symbol of the superhero live on and become young and fresh. However, one of the main problems I foresee with this though is that it may not entirely thrill audiences and business executives alike to have an Iron Man that isn't Tony Stark. While in comics this happens, the original character ALWAYS comes back. That is how it works. Obviously, that can't go on forever in movies. Although, that by no means kills the idea. Audiences may not care about the change and in fact it could be fun to watch a new character try and grow to become what Tony Stark was and what he dd in the Iron Man suit. It could even become a trait of the universe to have not just different actors but ever changing characters in these roles. Long shot, but hey, interesting to think about no? But allow me to get more specific...