Robert Downey Jr on Iron Man 4

Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to begin with Captain America: Civil War next week, but we would never have gotten to this point if Marvel hadn't gotten the MCU off to a running start with Iron Man in 2008. We've since gotten two Iron Man sequels - not to mention numerous other appearances from the character in the Avengers movies - and it seems like Iron Man 4 is still a possibility.

When asked about another solo Iron Man movie by ABC News, Downey gave a telling response; “I feel like I could do one more.”

Iron Man 3 made over $1.2 billion at the global box office, so it's safe to say that the demand is there. With that said, I doubt Iron Man 4 is in the cards; Marvel's jam-packed slate seems to be focused on introducing new heroes to their cinematic universe. Besides, audiences will still be getting their Tony Stark fix in Spider-Man: Homecoming and the Avengers: Infinity War movies.

Downey clearly enjoys playing the armored avenger though, and that makes the future of Iron Man in phase 4 of the MCU really interesting; having Downey back as Tony Stark would be very expensive for Marvel, but re-casting the character could prove costly for different reasons.

Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Anthony Mackie, and Sebastian Stan, Captain America: Civil War opens in UK cinemas on April 29, 2016 and May 6, 2016 in the US.

Images: Marvel

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.