As the future of Marvel's Phase 3 becomes clearer, one title is notoriously absent from the list of movies: Iron Man 4.
While Marvel Studios, through Kevin Feige has reiterated time and again that they have only planned trilogies for their movies, it's hard for fans to accept that the character that started the ball rolling would be placed in the backburner.
Still, Marvel's list of Phase 3 movies still does not include the 4th installment of the Tony Stark saga and last time it was discussed, the negotiations between Robert Downey, Jr and Marvel have not reached a positive agreement.
That may have changed as RDJ himself has shared a photo of what appears to be a negotiation as shared by Melty in their video.
In the video, they note that a meeting took place with Spider Man actor Tom Holland, RDJ, Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers and Jon Favreau. It could easily mean nothing, but it could also be their way of teasing an "Iron Man 4" movie with Spider Man.
If Marvel decides to pair the two heroes together, they have a real blockbuster that could trump any plan of rival Warner-DC to cash in on the Batman and Robin tandem. The rapport between the two heroes was established in "Civil War" and could take off in "Spider Man: The Homecoming" where RDJ is confirmed to appear.
The "Iron Man" movies have been the top performing solo movies for Marvel at the box office with the controversial "Iron Man 3" topping the $ 1 billion mark.
Speaking of controversial, there are numerous theories on how the Iron Man saga will continue. One angle is Stark's real parents as it was revealed in the comics that Tony was actually adopted. IGN presented several theories on the identity of his real parents.
One of those theories involves the Mandarin as the possible father. Even if this is not pursued, it is widely believed that we have not seen the last of Iron Man's archrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because of their one-shot feature "All Hail The King," it has been hinted that an actual real Mandarin exists outside of Trevor Slattery.