When you think, “Iron Man”, you think “Tony Stark”, and you think “Robert Downey Jr.”. But what if the man who has been playing the Marvel hero’s character since his first big screen appearance in 2008 has decided that enough is enough?
See, the thing is, up until the continued high quality and warm reception to the Marvel’s cinematic efforts and after “The Avengers”, Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. has always said that he would be hesitant to turn his back on the character. Well, who wouldn’t? It shot him to superstardom, brought in the moolahs, won him fans from all ages and all races and all around the world, and he’s definitely going to be stuck with Iron Man references for the rest of his life!
You can’t complain about being called “Iron Man” for the rest of your life now, can you?
However, his contract with Marvel Studio expired after the release of “Iron Man 3”, leaving his continued involvement in the role up in the air. And now, in an interview with Empire (via Comic Book Movie), the actor has again responded to the possibility that he may eventually hang up his metallic hat:
Let’s just say that the only thing I ever let go of had claw marks in it. There’s a little bit of soul reclamation going on. I feel that the first time I played Tony, I did it best. Sorry! The affinity with Tony now is: How do you sustain something? I’m not stupid, I like to play ball, I love the company, I love the character, and the business side of things, I’m not too picky about that either.
Recasting would probably be the best thing in the world for me. You know, ego. But sometimes ego just has to be smashed. Let’s see what happens. I take the audience very seriously – I feel bad when I see folks doing movies and the audience is like, “Don’t do that anymore”. I don’t have to overstay my welcome.
Aww. Really? Wait, this is only for “Iron Man 4” and not “The Avengers 2”, right?
(Source)
