Joss Whedon has made it known that he will not do the next "Avengers" movie unless he has Robert Downey Jr. playing Iron Man.
"He is Iron Man," Whedon told the Daily Beast about Robert Downey Jr."He is Iron Man in the way that Sean Connery was James Bond. I have no intention of making 'Avengers 2' without him, nor do I think I'll be called upon to do that. I don't think it's in my interest, Marvel's interest, or his interest, and I think everything will be fine."
Downey Jr. recently hinted that his time as Tony Stark may be coming to an end. "My intent is to launch another franchise, independent of any that I can even imagine right now," Downey stated in an interview. "My intent is to dominate the playing field for as long as I can, with my own challenges, with myself."
Whedon's comments are a result of Marvel President Kevin Feige's statements about replacing Downey Jr. in future installment of the franchise.
"Well, look, I don't think Robert will be playing this character for another 30 years, and I certainly hope the character stays in movies for the next 30 years -- just like James Bond. I would say before George Lazenby and Roger Moore, Sean Connery was James Bond," Feige told the Huffington Post."It will take a while to fill any shoes, whether it's filmmaker shoes or writer shoes or certainly actor shoes. I think Tony Stark is an interesting enough and rich enough character that he can persevere."
Downey Jr., Marvel, and Whedon will have to make their respective decisions soon as the film is slated to start shooting early next year.
"We should start shooting I think in February," Whedon revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I didn't think I was gonna do the second one, but I had an idea for it before I had figured out the first one."
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