2. War Machine
This seems inevitable, but I offer a twist. It seems like Robert Downey Jr. is less enthusiastic about being Iron Man with each appearance, making it only a matter of time before they have to find a replacement. No matter who they find, the transition could break the franchise and send a ripple effect throughout the rest of the films. So, in order to prepare the audience for the change, what if Iron Man 4 starred Don Cheadle as Iron Man? First off, Rhodey was Iron Man before he became War Machine, if Rhodey dons the armor for a while it will bring the story comfortably close to the comics. This is a great way for the writers to actually reference the comics directly in a way that comic fans would actually appreciate. Don Cheadle has plenty of star power to take on the leading role, the fact that Marvel got the Hotel Rwanda star to play second fiddle to Robert Downey Jr. seemed lucky anyway. Putting Cheadle in the Iron Man armor for a film (or two?) before sending him off to a War Machine/Iron Patriot (cringe) spin off would finally be a way to do away with one of the lamest creative decisions in comic book movies. The lets switch a characters race arbitrarily and then get all offended when we get accused of pandering to a particular audience in order to get their money idea is sad and lame, sad-lame. If Marvel wanted to prove their sudden concern for the racial makeup of their stories (which oddly enough hasnt spawned many new ethnically diverse characters, just sayin) is genuine, then why not tell a story that already exists and fits perfectly?