Iron Man is, just like Wolverine, a particular type of character: RDJ owns the character pretty much like Hugh Jackman has made Wolverine his own. Such that it's hard for anyone to imagine Iron Man or Wolverine respectively with a different face.
But while characters last, actors do retire. Jackman announced his last act. What will happen to Iron Man after RDJ steps off? We know that after Iron Man 3, RDJ has signed up for two more Marvel movies.
Avengers: Age of Ultron already happened, so that leaves RDJ with yet another movie to go in order to honor his contract with Marvel. However, the post-Iron Man 3 contract bound RDJ to 2 Avengers movies, and that doesn't include the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.
So Civil War is an addition of sorts, in excess of Avengers 2 and Avengers 3. The fact, however, that Avengers 3 is split in two parts complicates the situation even more: will RDJ's Iron Man show up only in Infinity War - Part I, or will he be included in Russos' sequel?
Regardless of that, a question remains: what will happen to Iron Man when RDJ leaves Marvel? Here are my hypotheses.
1. Marvel could recast Iron Man
That's sort of obvious. And while Marvel likes constancy, they're no strangers to recasting characters.
We could think of Don Cheadle taking over James Rhodes from Terence Howard. Or, better yet, we could cite another case: the Hulk assigned to Mark Ruffalo after Edward Norton called it quits.
Another version of Iron Man would be more difficult to establish, since RDJ has left a deep mark on Marvel's character, playing him 5 times (without counting the brief post credit scene in The Incredible Hulk), whereas Terence Howard and Edward Norton played James Rhodes and Bruce Banner respectively only once.
However, that's one way to go. Marvel could, however, proceed another way.
2. Tamper with the character
And that could happen in two different ways. First, they could proceed like they intend to do with Spider-Man: they could change the character while keeping his identity, but propose a younger version of him.
And there's a number of stunts they could pull in order to achieve that: perhaps use the Time Gem (yet to be revealed in the MCU) or they could craft a new - younger - body for Tony Stark by using Dr. Cho's machine.
This, of course, implies recasting. But I don't think Marvel would face such a challenge in finding a new actor for young Iron Man: who wouldn't like to walk in RDJ's shoes and carry the legacy?
Secondly, they could keep Iron Man, but change his identity. Meaning, they could turn Iron Man into a sort of title, like it's the case with Ant-Man or Spider-Man, which are the superhero personas of a number of different characters.
And two possible contenders I could think of are Pepper Potts and James Rhodes.
3. Retire the character altogether and replace him
That smells a bit like a loss for Marvel, but they could do that and bestow increased prominence to other characters who could replace Iron Man, but not by taking over his title. War Machine, for instance, could remain War Machine and fulfill the tasks ordinarily fulfilled by Stark.
And so could the Vision who, despite being a latecomer, has the most overpowering set of skills. No one could complain he's not "qualified" to carry on his creator's legacy.
I, however, would not disregard Pepper Potts. Could Marvel consider turning her into a feminine version of Iron Man? Is there room for Iron Woman in the MCU?
I mean, they already crafted a female Thor and a female Wolverine for the comics. So if there's a wind of change blowing across the universe, why not do the same with Iron Man?
So, what do you think, guys? Which of my theories appeal most to you or seems plausible? Or do you have another one? Have your say below via comments! And don't forget: stay tuned, we'll bring you the hottest scoop on all things Iron Man!
