Robert Downey Jr.IS Iron Man... But For How Long?

You know who he is. Robert Downey Jr.’s involvement in the Iron Man franchise has been kept tightly under wraps ever since speculation first started that he may not be returning for the fourth movie. Iron Man without RDJ? Impossible! Preposterous! And not completely out of the question. If Downey knows anything for sure, he didn’t let it slip during his chat with Entertainment Weekly on the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Tony Stark is Iron Man. But what about RDJ?

“It’s down to Kevin [Feige, Marvel Studios president] and Ike [Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment] and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and that’s on us to agree or disagree,” Downey said. “When things are going great, there’s a lot of agreement.”

More: What's Going On With Iron Man 4? Robert Downey Jr. Too Pricey? Colin Farrell To Step In?

So… signs point to yes? Not so fast, dear overly excitable friends. Downey quickly teetered in the other direction. The actor was voted the richest actor in Hollywood by Forbes earlier this week. Like his fans, Downey is aware that the money is coming in from Marvel. But at this point in the story, RDJ’s gig seems solid, in that he has made himself irreplaceable as Tony Stark. Or has he?

Could you imagine the franchise without Downey? We didn't think so.

“It’s that thing of: Why give up the belt when it feels like you can barely get jabbed?” he says—then adds a caveat. “Most people are saying that right when they get knocked out.”

More: Surprise, Surprise: Thanks To Marvel, Robert Downey Jr. Continues His Reign As Hollywood's Richest Actor

So what we’re picking up from this is: unlike previously reported, Downey does not want to leave Iron Man.At this point, however, it’s all in the hands of the studio. Fingers crossed that Downey gets to continue his long and storied run as the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. Nothing would be the same without him.

Downey's return is still in question.