Robert Downey Jr. may not be starring in Iron Man 4, but he is close to redonning the Iron Man suit to join Captain America 3.
According to Variety, Downey is in final negotiations to play Tony Stark again alongside Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in the next Captain America installment, which is gearing for a May 6, 2016 release. While no future Iron Man installments are officially in the works, Downey is already signed to star in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers 3.
Marvel originally pushed for Iron Man to make a small appearance in Captain America 3, but Downey reportedly demanded a bigger role in the film. With an initial pushback from Marvel, it’s estimated that he could earn around $40 million plus backend participation, making that contract similar to the one he signed for The Avengers.
With both Captain America and Iron Man having significant roles in the new film, several sources say, Marvel may be adapting the Civil War storyline, which pits Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, who already butted heads in The Avengers, against each other as they fight over the Superhero Registration Act. With Tony in support and Steve against it, they have a falling out and end up facing off. The film’s events could drive the storylines in the Marvel universe for several years.
The Daily Dot’s Gavia Baker-Whitelaw predicted that Civil War could serve as the plot of Avengers 3back in May, but it looks like it may happen even sooner.
The news comes off the heels of Marvel’s plan to relaunch the Civil War miniseries in 2015, which would lead up into the release of Captain America 3. Once again, Iron Man and Captain America are at odds.
#CivilWar #1 -- Summer 2015 pic.twitter.com/o8732gL4lL
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 13, 2014H/T Hollywood Reporter | Screengrab via Netflix