A lot has been made in recent weeks of Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr.'s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the prospect of Iron Man 4 seemingly non-existent, and negotiations over a bigger payday limiting his role to only the next two The Avengers sequels. Now, Variety are reporting that the actor is on the verge of negotiating a deal that would see him reprise the role for Captain America 3, with plans that it will introduce elements of Marvel Comics' Civil War series to the MCU. A 2006 miniseries, Civil War saw the heroes of the Marvel Universe on the opposite sides of feud over the Superhero Registration Act, which required heroes to reveal their secret identities to the U.S. government and agree to act as a super powered police force, with Iron Man leading the pro-side, and Captain America on the run as leader of the dissenters.
The introduction of this new storyline promises to fuel the sequels and new franchise of the MCU for the next seven years, giving Tony Stark a much bigger role across all the future Marvel movies as a villain of sorts. The Avengers 4 is said to be when we really see the fallout of Stark and the governments actions, rumoured to feature a new team of heroes led by Iron Man, giving Marvel Studios time to wrap up the Infinity Gems and Thanos storyline they are currently juggling. Unless, of course, they plan on letting the two story lines bleed into each other, which is a prospect that I find absolutely mind blowing. Whatever happens going forward, it does mean we have RDJ staying on in the role for the foreseeable future, offering some interesting possibilities of where he can take the character now.
