Take this with a grain of salt, but there are rumors out there suggesting that Marvel already has selected the replacement for Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man and he will be ready to take over the mantle for IRON MAN 4 in 2019. Forget the fact that IRON MAN 4 has not even been announced yet, but the sources claim the successor to Tony Stark is a character we have already met.
A source tells Movie Pilot that actor Ty Simpkins will be the next Iron Man. While that site is typically regarded as a wretched hive of scum and villainy, it is an intriguing idea. Simpkins played a major supporting role in IRON MAN 3 as Harley Keener. You may remember that he helped Tony Stark after he crash landed in Tennessee. At the end of the film, Stark outfitted the young man with all sorts of gear. Many wondered why Marvel would invest a chunk of IRON MAN 3 to this character, but whether they were planning on him being the next wearer of the suit is tenuous at best.
Ty Simpkins has been building a nice little filmography recently with roles in INSIDIOUS and JURASSIC WORLD. If IRON MAN 4 is planned for 2019, which would be after AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, Simpkins would be 17 years old. Iterations of Iron Man, namely the animated INVINCIBLE IRON MAN series, have portrayed Tony Stark as a Peter Parker-esque teen superhero. Simpkins, or another young actor, could be a nice reboot and give Marvel years of franchise potential while also allowing them to take the character in other directions the middle-aged Downey cannot.
Of course this is all conjecture as there is nothing to substantiate this rumor. Still, it is worth thinking about. Would Marvel be better off recasting Tony Stark or just create a new character to take over the superhero persona of Iron Man?
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