Are Avengers 2 And Avengers 3 Shooting Back-To-Back?

Here's an interesting little piece of speculation that was brought to our attention. Many have been making a big deal out of the fact that Robert Downey Jr. signed a contract for Avengers 2 and Avengers 3, but not for any future Iron Man movies. If one thinks about the next two Avengers movie being spread out over several years, then it could very well be an indication that moviegoers might never see Robert Downey Jr. in another solo Iron Man movie again. However, what if the next two Avengers movies aren't being spread out over several years? Marvel Studios has already announced two mystery movies for 2016 and one mystery movie for 2017. Since we know Avengers 2 is scheduled for May 1, 2015, it's probably a pretty safe bet that Avengers 2 is one of the mystery films in either 2016 or 2017. Given that the first Avengers movie was the third highest grossing movie of all time worldwide, it's one of those rare franchises where a studio would likely feel comfortable shooting two sequels back-to-back. After the huge success of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Disney shot Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 back-to-back. Shooting Avengers 2 & 3 back-to-back would make sense for a number of reasons. Besides just the obvious cost savings, the Avengers movies feature a number of in demand movie stars, who have a number of other projects. By shooting Avengers 2 &3 back-to-back, it would likely be easier to coordinate schedules, rather than having everyone leave to work on various other projects and then try to regroup again. Also, the Avengers requires the actors involved to exercise to get in shape for their parts. It's probably preferable for the actors to work out and shoot both Avengers 2 & 3 back-to-back, then to go off and do other projects that may not have as demanding physical requirements. If Avengers 2 & Avengers 3 are shooting back-to-back, then it would also explain why Robert Downey Jr. just signed a two picture deal. Maybe, he had to sign a two picture deal for those films to accommodate a back-to-back filming schedule, and he will negotiate a contract for future Iron Man movies when the time comes.