According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr is in “final negotiations”to play billionaire Tony Stark in Captain America 3. Which according to them will kick off the film adaptation of Marvel’s Civil War storyline!
The story would pit Iron Man against Captain America, played by Chris Evans, as they feud over the Superhero Registration Act, which seeks to force anyone with superhuman abilities to reveal their identities to the U.S. government and agree to act as a police force for them.
Tony Stark supports the program, but of course Steve Rogers does not, saying it threatens civil liberties. Lines are drawn, and Rogers among others, to go on the run. The moral dilemma and battle with his Avengers teammate essentially makes Stark a villain of sorts.
This is just the type of game changer that we’ve come to expect for Marvel, with the events spilling over into an Avengers film.
Just last week Downey teased future big plans with Marvel.
But according to Variety, Downey almost didn’t return as Iron Man:
“Originally, Marvel wanted to hire Downey for a small role, which would have required just three weeks of work. But Downey wanted Stark to have a more substantial role in the film’s plot, which would give him more screen time and naturally a bigger payday. This angered Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter, who ordered the screenwriters to write Iron Man out of the script entirely, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Even though the deal appeared dead, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Downey’s reps at CAA continued talks in hopes of working out their issues. Feige was bent on executing his grand vision for extending the life of the Marvel characters over many years.
The executive needed his boss to see the big picture, considering the introduction of the Civil War story is seen as a way to drive the plots of sequels and new franchises for the next seven years, given the dramatic possibilities it offers for future films. The fallout from the government and Stark’s actions would factor into a new “Avengers 4″ film and beyond that will assemble new characters being introduced like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, among others, in their own movies.”
Feige to the rescue huh? I hope when the book on what Marvel Studios has done in movies is written, the man gets his due.
Marvel also announced today plans for a Civil War comicbook event in 2015. It will will be interesting to see how this storyline differs from the 2006 event, and how it will affect the MCU.
There’s been all sorts of rumors regarding the future of the MCU. From Spider-Man joining the Avengers to Avengers 3 being split into 2 movies or featuring an all new team altogether. Perhaps we were getting hints at Civil War all along?
Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, will return to helm Captain America 3. The Russos are working on the script with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The movie will hit theaters on May 6th, 2016 after defending the date from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Source: Variety
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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