Iron Man Is Back As Robert Downey Jr. Signs On For 'The Avengers' 2 & 3

When Iron Man 3 wrapped up, raking in well over $1B in the process, it felt like a natural conclusion to Tony Stark's story. And considering Robert Downey Jr. had been talking rather openly about retiring, it certainly seemed like a possibility. But there was also some doubt about him returning for The Avengers 2, and contract negotiations began to get downright nasty, especially when it came out that Downey pocketed a cool $50M from the last film. Fortunately it looks like all sides have ironed out their respective grievances because Downey is definitely coming back, and he'll be staying for awhile.

Marvel has announced Downey's return for The Avengers 2, due out in 2015, and The Avengers 3 to come out at a later date, possibly on one of the two mystery dates Disney recently revealed for 2016 and 2017. For those hoping there would be an Iron Man 4, that doesn't appear to be in the cards, at least not yet, but this is still good news knowing that Stark will be trading barbs with Captain America for awhile longer.

The Avengers 2 opens on May 1st 2015.