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.