Robert Downey Jr. is quite the popular guy, so it’s no surprise that his AMA on reddit was a heavily populated affair. Downey Jr. took some time to answer a number of different questions in promotion of his upcoming drama The Judge, and during the course of the AMA he touched on a number of issues. Chiefly, Downey Jr. dismissed his recent comment about starring in Iron Man 4 if Mel Gibson directs as a simple offhanded remark (as was made clear in the context of the full interview; not sure why everyone started reporting this as fact in the first place). He also touched on the likelihood of making an appearance on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the status of Sherlock Holmes 3, a noir-tinged Perry Mason project that he’s developing, and he even made brief mention of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Additionally, while appearing on The Ellen Show Downey straight-up admitted that Iron Man 4 is in the works. Read on after the jump.
After Avengers: Age of Ultron, Robert Downey Jr. only has one film left in his Marvel Studios contract, which is specified as either Avengers 3 or the now-rumored massive event film Marvel is supposedly planning. For Iron Man 4 to happen, there will have to be a renegotiation of Downey's contract, and seeing as how Marvel Studios is an incredibly thrifty studio and RDJ made $50 million off of The Avengers, there is a lot of money at stake in bringing the actor back for Iron Man 4.
As such, all public discussion of Iron Man 4 thus far has been that it remains a possibility, but talks are still ongoing as to whether it will or won’t happen with RDJ. When appearing on The Ellen Show today, Downey was pressed as to whether there will be an Iron Man 4:
“I know there's going to be more Marvel movies, and they have big ideas of how to do it best. We're in the middle of negotiations, blah blah blah.”
Ellen pressed further by asking, “So yes?”, to which Downey Jr. replied “Okay, yes.” Marvel Studios has yet to confirm that Iron Man 4 is on its schedule, but it’s possible that could change sooner rather than later. During his reddit AMA, Downey dismissed the notion of Mel Gibson directing the film as a joke, but added a bit of clarity on the prospect of the film itself:
It was an offhanded remark to a journalist and friend. I have other projects in mind for Mel and I - sooner than later the Marvel Roster will be made public and all questions will be answered.
While RDJ answered the question “what TV show would you consider guesting or cameoing on?” with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the actor later admitted that the likelihood of said cameo becoming a reality is slim:
Nothing is impossible. But there might be a fair amount of red tape involved in something like that. I love Clark Gregg, and am pleased the show is doing so well.
Downey also made mention of Avengers: Age of Ultron in discussing how Joss Whedon reacted to the notion of topping the Avengers post-credits scene:
I remember shooting that shawarma post-credit scene, and having just finished Avengers: Age of Ultron, wondered how we'd beat it. Joss says "The way to win is to not try."
With regards to Sherlock Holmes 3, the answer appears to remain the same one it’s been for the past couple of years:
Yes, we have a Sherlock 3 in development. We want it to be the best of the series, so that's a pretty tall order. Also, Perry Mason is a property I'm looking forward to developing further, going back to the 1931 book series...similarly to what we did with the first 2 Sherlocks, mining the original material for things that are "new."
Downey also elaborated on the Perry Mason project when someone asked him if he’d considering delving back into noir territory after the brilliant Kiss Kiss Bang Bang:
The Perry Mason project we're developing is kind of a pre-"Chinatown" gumshoe thriller with some courtroom stakes, and action sequences.
That’s certainly something to look forward to, so here’s hoping Team Downey puts that one together sooner rather than later. For now, though, I expect most are interested to find out where, exactly, Robert Downey Jr.’s future lies with Marvel Studios. Watch the video of his appearance on Ellen below.