After a little kerfuffle about whether Robert Downey Jr. would walk away from the hugely popular Marvel after his five picture contract expired with Iron Man 3, he has signed on to do at least two more films in the franchise with the not yet titled Avengers 2 and Avengers 3. Word is that RDJ wants to have more time on his plate to do other projects so it’s still unclear whether he will be returning for Iron Man 4. The fact that this new contract does not stipulate a fourth film in the record-setting franchise, however, is evidence enough that there probably will not be another Iron Man stand alone film…at least with Downey Jr.

Even Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers, stated that he wouldn’t be interested in being part of the follow-up without RDJ’s presence. RDJ got onboard with Marvel early on, and has been a part of more of the franchise’s films than anyone else, so his contract was not the 9-picture deal that has become the standard bearer for newcomers to the Marvel universe such as Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, and Chris Evans,who plays Captain America.  

With the staggering success of Iron Man 3 and The Avengers, it’s still unclear how much draw Thor and Cap have independent of their superhero collective but we shall see when Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier open in November and April 2014, respectively.

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