When Iron Man premiered in 2008, no one could have possibly anticipated its influence.
Now, what had been predicted to be a mildly successful B-tier film at best has the distinction
of anchoring one of the most successful franchises in film history.
So what's with the curious absence of a fourth Iron Man movie?
Let's dig through the gossip and find out why we never got to see Iron Man 4.
Pricey playboy
Robert Downey, Jr.'s value to the Marvel Cinematic Universe can't be overstated, since he's been
the charismatic center of the Avengers initiative.
This on-screen value, however, comes with a real-world price tag.
As Tony Stark, Downey hasn't just been one of the most valuable players in the Marvel
stable, he's become one of the most valuable actors in the entire world.
Even modest estimates have his earning capacity at hundreds of millions of dollars.
It would be no surprise if the cost-benefit analysis of another Iron Man, from Marvel's
side, shows less and less of a reward.
Fortunately, the end of Downey's involvement wouldn't have to spell the end for a big-screen
Iron Man.
His version — beloved as it is — is just a part of Iron Man's legacy, rather than a
role that ends with his departure, as others have been known to step into his rocket-shoes.
"Basically I am here to announce that we are building Iron man.
I'm gonna blast off in a second."
Too many heroes
If you're a fan of Marvel movies, you've likely heard about their strategy of releasing films
in "phases."
Phase 1 was the original "Avengers assemble" arc, introducing our main heroes.
Phase 2, leading up to Age of Ultron, broadened that world, taking us into space and introducing
new heroes like Ant-Man.
Now we're in Phase 3, set to introduce a slew of new heroes, culminating with the long-awaited
battle against Thanos in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War.
Meanwhile, Captain America has already had his third adventure, and Thor will also see
his third movie before Phase 4 begins.
Add Black Panther and Captain Marvel's upcoming solo movies, and it's hard to see how another
Iron Man could easily fit into the mix.
Short on villains
Bad guys have never really been the strong point of the MCU.
They're all fairly one-note, and most of their master plans boil down to blowing up buildings
for 20 minutes before getting their butts handed to them by the heroes.
We're sort of running out of interesting and impressive villains that are specific to Iron
Man.
There are still interesting directions they can go, but throwing a giant, angry, hovering
head into the MCU seems unlikely…
"That is a very big head."
...and most of Tony Stark's other enemies are just other dudes in super-suits.
And there's no way that we'll ever see them throw a giant dragon like Fin Fang Foom into
the MCU.
Or would they?
Short on good storylines
Iron Man's most famous storylines have mostly already made it to the big screen, for better
or for worse.
"Armor Wars" was loosely adapted for the premise of Iron Man 2.
"Demon in a Bottle," where Tony Stark confronts his alcoholism, has been addressed throughout
the series.
"You know the question I get asked most often is, 'Tony how do you go to the bathroom in
the suit?'
Just like that."
"Extremis" was a pretty big part of Iron Man 3.
At this point, Marvel might be kind of tapped out.
Would it be a good idea to go more obscure?
Can moviegoing audiences deal with Tony Stark being mind-controlled by Kang the Conqueror
and beating up his teenage self?
Could it be Marvel would rather not push its luck?
Find out in the next episode of.
An unnecessary risk
The Iron Man trilogy is, in critics' eyes, a three-for-three success story, which is
no small task.
Ask the makers of the Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman franchises how well their third installments
went.
Not even The Godfather was as consistent as Iron Man.
Executives may be hesitant to risk that perfect record, because they stand to lose more than
they stand to gain.
It's easy to make bad superhero movies with terrible plot contrivances…
"Save Martha."
... but the conclusion of Iron Man 3 felt like a smart final statement for the character
as a solo hero… and the insane action sequence in which Stark summons an army of robot-controlled
Iron Man suits to save him from an unstable, explosive villain, seems kind of impossible
to top.
We don't need Iron Man 4, not really.
The next best thing is right around the corner.
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