'Iron Man 4' movie update: What's next for Tony Stark in the Marvel Universe?

Iron Man and Tony Stark(Photo: Marvel)

"Iron Man 4" may or may not happen, but Robert Downey Jr. will definitely return as the iron-clad billionaire Tony Stark in other Marvel productions in the future.

The actor had been asked several times about the status of the fourth installment of the box-office "Iron Man" franchise, and he gave varied answers to all those interviews. It would either be a go or a no for "Iron Man 4."

In his recent interview with Variety, Downy Jr. said that the fourth "Iron Man" movie will not happen.

"There isn't one in the pipe," he said.

But RDJ fans who love to see him in the iron suit should not lose hope. According to reports, the actor will still play the iconic role in other films produced by Marvel Studios, including the upcoming "Captain America 3" movie.

Though the negotiations between the actor and Marvel have not been finalized at the moment, the reports said that "Iron Man" will play a big role in the rumored "Civil War" plot for the third installment of the "Captain America" franchise.

An article posted on Movie Pilot pointed out that "Captain America 3" will take on the huge Civil War storyline. In the comic series, Stark is tasked to oversee the registration of all the superheroes for the new government-mandated Superhero Registration Act. However, other superheroes are not in favor of this new law, particularly Captain America's alter ego Steve Rogers. This leads to a clash between Stark and Rogers, and ultimately, between Iron Man and Captain America.

The article also suggested that Iron Man's antagonistic character in "Captain America 3" could be a perfect venue to retire the superhero from Marvel Universe. Still, fans are hoping that Downey Jr. could at least sign in for another film before ultimately dropping the "Iron Man" costume.

Talks about getting another actor to play Tony Stark's role also surfaced a while back, but Downey simply laughed it off.