Robert Downey Jr. Once Felt a Little ‘Bombed Out’ That Marvel Didn’t Do ‘Iron Man 4’
As Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. was the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than a decade. In that time period, he gave fans three successful Iron Man movies and several memorable superhero team-up films. However, at one point Downey was interested in doing a fourth solo Iron Man movie. So it was no wonder he was a little disappointed that Iron Man 4 never came to fruition.
Robert Downey Jr. once believed that superheroes were becoming a bit old
Downey may have had a hand in increasing the popularity of superhero movies, but even the Infinity War star felt they might have been getting stale. He shared this opinion in an interview with The Telegraph, where he opened up about the moneymaking genre.
“Honestly, the whole thing is just showing the beginning signs of fraying around the edges. It’s a little bit old. Last summer there were five or seven different ones out. I feel that they are critiqued by a different metric to any other movie,” Downey said.
It was suggested that box-office money was the true method for measuring a film’s success. But Downey asserted that superhero movies were held to a bit of a different standard.
“Right. But also they are more forgiven because they operate on a different frequency. It’s like a bunch of really good dancers and you’re looking for the one who keeps changing her leg warmers. They make a lot of money,” he continued.
Robert Downey Jr. was a little ‘bombed’ that he didn’t get to do ‘Iron Man 4’
The Iron Man trilogy is one of the most successful lone superhero trilogies of all time. Iron Man 3 alone was able to gross $1.3 billion at the box office. Because of the trilogy’s success, and the massive support of Downey’s Iron Man, rumors and anticipation persisted on a fourth movie. But Downey revealed once and for all the status of Iron Man 4 when asked if there was a script.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Downey answered.
No Iron Man 4 didn’t mean no Iron Man, however, as the superhero has appeared in several Avengers movies since. Still, the Dolittle star would’ve been interested in one more standalone film.
“Avengers was another opportunity, but they’re not talking about Iron Man 4. I was kind of bombed out to tell the truth, but maybe they’ve got bigger fish to fry and I trust their overall vision. The funny thing about these genre movies is you’d think they were national secrets,” he said.
Robert Downey Jr. believes he’s done everything he could for the Iron Man character
Many fans have shared their desire to see Robert Downey Jr suit up one more time in the Iron Man costume. But although no one knows what the future holds, Downey feels like it’s truly the end of a chapter and he’s ready to move on.
“I’ve done all I could with that character and can do other things now,” Downey told Hindustan Times. “Now, being middle-aged, you start looking at the back nine and realize this is all part of the journey and things end. I am fortunate and eternally grateful to have wound up where I have.”
He also made a case that it might not be satisfying for Iron Man to return after Downey retired from the role.
“If I picked the Jersey back up and put it back on, wouldn’t you feel like, ‘Oh crap,’” Downey said on the Joe Rogan Experience.