So just how mega big is “Iron Man 3” going to be? Well, if early projections are accurate, it’s going to be a monster, with predictions of a $160 million weekend now being tossed around. That would not only make it the biggest opener of the franchise so far, but one of the year’s biggest movies as well. So you might think it would be a no brainer for Marvel to greenlight a fourth installment. Guess again?
Speaking with GeekNation, the Most Beautiful Woman In The World AKA Gwyneth Paltrow made today an ugly one for geeks hoping for the continued adventures of Tony Stark. “I don’t think there’s going to be [an ‘Iron Man 4‘]. I think we’re done with ‘Iron Man,’ ” she stated. And while we’ll have to wait and see what Kevin Feige and co. decide, there are a couple reasons why this could be true.
Firstly, Robert Downey Jr. has already started talking about walking away from the series, and from Marvel’s perspective, he’s also very expensive to keep on board. A backend profit deal on “The Avengers” saw RDJ pocket $50 million, and we presume he probably has a similar deal in place for “Iron Man 3.” Moreover, his contract is up (along with Paltrow’s) and renewing him is going to be a lot more costly than it was when Marvel signed the actor, who was barely on the Hollywood radar before “Iron Man” revitalized his career. Moreover, maybe as Marvel heads into Phase Three they’ll want to shift focus to even more characters, including Daredevil, the rights to which are now back in their hands.
So we’ll let fans speculate on what this means for the fate of Pepper Potts and other characters in the series, but could Don Cheadle and his War Machine take over where Tony Stark leaves off? We’ll see. “Iron Man 3” opens on May 3rd. [via Bleeding Cool]