Hot on the heels of the surprising announcement that saw Marvel Comics tease the return/continuation/reboot of Mark Millar & Steve McNiven’s classic crossover event ‘Civil War’, another very interesting piece of news concerning the House of Ideas has hit the web that might explain why they’re choosing to revisit yet another iconic storyline after announcing an all-new ‘Secret Wars’ during this year’s New York Comic Con.
According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr. is working out a deal to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for ‘Captain America 3’, which is scheduled for a 2016 release. Previously, the ‘Iron Man’ star was only set to appear in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and it’s sequel before his current contract expires, but now it looks like the fan favorite actor is planning to stick around as Tony Stark a little bit longer. This comes after all the recent talk (jokingly or otherwise) of RDJ suiting up for ‘Iron Man 4’, however, Downey may be returning for something bigger. The outlet reports that this is the first move towards an adaptation of ‘Civil War’ on the big screen.
Sources say that Marvel originally wanted Downey for a small role, but when the veteran actor was looking for a meatier role with more screen time, the ‘Civil War’ story was brought up to “drive the plots of sequels and new franchises for the next seven years” and beyond. So far neither Marvel nor the reps at CAA have responded with a comment to this news.
While ‘Civil War’ is a hugely important arc in shaping the modern Marvel Comics world, a few key elements for a cinematic adaptation such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four are missing from the equation due to the film rights being owned by other studios. Naturally, things can be changed around to not completely reflect the source material, but the filmmakers behind Steve Rogers’ next solo big screen adventure have denied rumors of ‘Civil War’ playing a part of their future plans with the Star-Spangled Avenger. Of course, there is the possibility that the Russo brothers are keeping mum about it so as to not prematurely spoil anything for their audience. Or Downey’s appearance is only meant to plant the seeds for the storyline for a future film and we won’t get ‘Civil War’ all at once.
There are so many ways to spin this news right now, so while we wait for more details to emerge, let’s hear your thoughts on RDJ taking part in the Sentinel of Liberty’s third solo feature film from Marvel Studios in the comment section. Do you think that Robert Downey Jr. will sign on for more Marvel Studios films beyond ‘Captain America 3’? What are your thoughts on ‘Civil War’ making the jump from the page to the big screen? Sound off!
