According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to return as Tony Stark/Iron Man in The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3. However, he apparently isn't too keen on taking on another solo movie despite the success of the latest instalment which has so far grossed over $700 million worldwide. Here's the relevant excerpt from their report about the negotiations.
Sources close to the dealmaking say Downey has entered negotiations to reprise his role in Marvel’s The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3, the first of which has a May 1, 2015, release date and will cap what is known as Phase 2 of the Marvel movies in the same way 2012’s Avengers culminated the first Marvel wave that began with 2008’s Iron Man. Avengers 3 has no release date and probably will not hit screens at least until the end of Phase 3, in 2017. But sources say Iron Man 4 has not been part of the discussions, and it’s unclear whether Downey, 48, wants to return for another stand-alone sequel.
One analyst suggests that a lack of Robert Downey Jr. in their future movies could mean that Marvel Studios lose as much as 9 % of their earnings in the near future.
"It would be a definite negative for that particular franchise. He is Tony Stark. The other individual franchises -- Thor, Captain America, Hulk -- etc., don’t have near the level of box-office potential that Iron Man does. The other way to look at it is that Iron Man would probably look more like those other franchises in terms of box-office performance without Downey." The site adds that the studio has scripts in place for
Blade,
Ms. Marvel,
Doctor Strange,
Iron Fist,
Black Panther and
The Runaways. They've also regained the rights to Ghost Rider, Daredevil and
Power Man.
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