The godfather of the MCU himself, Robert Downey Jr., might not be in any hurry to return to the Marvel multiverse, given that he’s currently enjoying an awards season career high, but that won’t necessarily stop the studio from continuing the Iron Man brand without him. While there’s no such movie as Iron Man 4 currently on the docket, Disney CEO Bob Iger’s latest revelations about the future of the franchise suggest it’s surely only a matter of time.
Speaking at the House of Mouse’s Q1 earnings call, Iger made many juicy announcements about what’s to come from the company in the future, including the fact that Moana 2 is releasing this November. At the same time, he also touched on the state of Marvel Studios right now, which is infamously suffering from something of a funk following the mixed success of its 2023 movies and TV shows. Iger’s belief is that the way to fix this is to streamline the studio’s slate.
As per The Wrap, Iger told investors and analysts that Disney has “reduced volume” at Marvel:
“In our zeal to greatly increase volume partially tied to this wanting to chase more global subs for our streaming platform, some of our studios lost a little focus. So the first step that we’ve taken is that we’ve reduced volume, we reduced output, particularly in Marvel.”
On a more specific note, Iger stressed that, moving forward, Disney and Marvel are going to go all in on sequelizing established franchises. I know, don’t all drop dead from shock at once.
“I’d say we’re leaning a little bit more into sequels and franchises,” Iger explained. “I think given the environment and given what it takes to get people out of their homes to see a film … leaning on franchises that are familiar is actually a smart thing.”
On paper, this is a curious thing to say. For context, every single MCU movie since November 2021’s Eternals has been a sequel — that’s seven whole films in a row! — and this will continue for two more releases until May 2025’s Fantastic Four comes around (and even that’s a reboot). What we can infer that Iger means, then, is that Marvel will be moving away from building up newer franchises, such as The Marvels, and return to some of its more traditional money-makers. So presumably he’s pleased that Captain America 4 is already on its way in Feb. 2024.
Other projects Iger may be keen to produce at top speed include Doctor Strange 3, Black Panther 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy 4, seeing as Multiverse of Madness, Wakanda Forever, and Vol. 3 have been among the highest-grossing entries in the Multiverse Saga. Nevertheless, it’s easy to imagine that the jewel in the crown, the sequel that would really make Iger water at the mouth, is Iron Man 4. Interest in another Iron Man movie has never abated despite Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame and Downey is asked about coming back constantly.
Of course, a spinoff movie starring Don Cheadle’s War Machine is in the works, but who knows if 2026’s Armor Wars can make the same kind of impact on audiences without that all-important, familiar branding. Could Disney go all-out and recast Downey with a new Tony in order to make Iron Man 4? The possibility suddenly doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it once did. You might want to have your phone to hand, Tom Cruise…
