Marvel Wants Robert Downey, Jr. “For Many, Many Years to Come”

In a new interview with The Huffington Post, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was once again cornered on the question of whether Iron Man franchise star Robert Downey, Jr. will return for more films now that his contract has expired following Iron Man 3.While he didn’t give indication as to the progress of any talks with the actor, Feige did definitively say that not only is Marvel interested in bringing Downey back (which was widely known), but that they hope to keep him around for quite a while if they can.”Well, look, I don’t think Robert will be playing this character for another 30 years, and I certainly hope the character stays in movies for the next 30 years — just like James Bond,” said Feige. “I would say before George Lazenby and Roger Moore, Sean Connery was James Bond. It will take a while to fill any shoes, whether it’s filmmaker shoes or writer shoes or certainly actor shoes. I think Tony Stark is an interesting enough and rich enough character that he can persevere. That being said, I hope that doesn’t happen any time soon. It certainly is our plan to continue to have Robert Downey in the persona of Tony Stark for many, many years to come.”The James Bond parallel is one that the studio has gone back to again and again, indicating a willingness to carry on without Downey if needed, even if that’s not their current plan. Downey, meanwhile, is a bit more cagey about the chances of more Iron Man.”The future, as usual, is uncertain,” Downey told Comic Book Movie during a press conference at a screening of the film. “And I think the great thing is that we never could have knwon what and who was going to come together for the third Iron Man. Usually the third of anything struggles to even meet the first two, let alone the first one. So in all earnestness, things are very much in flux right now. Marvel has their plans and we’re all living and growing and we’ll see what happens.”