Possible IRON MAN Suit Concept Art For AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

While it's been confirmed we'll be seeing the Hulkbuster in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we haven't actually had a good idea of what to expect with Stark's other armors. There was a shot of a stand-in wearing a prop suit, which might have been placed there for ILM and the actors on set's sake. However, a new image might actually be concept art from the new film. It might also be leftovers from Iron Man 3 concept art, but this could be what Iron Man looks like in his regular armor.

Is Tony Stark The Creator Of Ultron Not Hank Pym In AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON?

Putting together bits and pieces of information post Comic-Con can be tiring but sometimes a few gems pop-up. One being the revelation from Joss Whedon that Dr. Hank Pym won't be showing up in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that Ultron's origin will be altered to suit the film. Giving the impression that Pym won't be in the film at all which has been hinted for ages by Ant-Man director Edgar Wright. He had previously stated his characters would have their introduction and origins explored in his film first. Kevin Feige even confirmed this in an interview with Empire. Kevin also teased a Stark/Ultron connection (he mentioned the Age of Ultron teaser footage shown at Comic-Con) shortly after. Thor helped create Loki as villain in the first film, so will Stark build Ultron only to have him turn on mankind?

It's not hard to make that leap with Stark already dappling in artificial intelligence with JARVIS. Stark mentions Life Model Decoy (androids used by S.H.I.E.L.D.) in Avengers to Agent Coulson. So it's possible Tony was already working on them or they already existed in the MCU. In Iron Man 3 it went even further with his suits being able to work on their own, with a few bugs that almost saw Pepper getting hurt by one of them. It ended up leading to a massive battle with the Iron Legion taking out villains on their own. Could these be the seeds Marvel was planting to give us Ultron in Avengers 2?

Robert Downey Jr. Officially Signs Deal To Appear In AVENGERS 2 And AVENGERS 3

Marvel confirms that Robert Downey Jr. will indeed play Tony Stark/Iron Man for two more films. As Robert has officially signed a two-picture deal to play Stark in both Avengers 2 and Avengers 3. This deal doesn't include any future Iron Man films. It's possible a bigger deal might need to be made for him to sign an Iron Man 4 contract or Marvel could give the franchise some time to breathe. Instead of rushing into a new trilogy giving the massive backlog of new characters (Black Panther, Iron Fist, Ms Marvel) a chance to get their films released. The Avengers and Iron Man 3 have collectively earned Marvel $2.7 billion, so it's an investment they had to make. Robert Downey Jr. and his take on Tony Stark is currently the glue of the MCU which will see him sticking around till the end of Phase Three. Details of the deal aren't being mentioned but it's possible that sort of information will be leaked eventually.

Shane Black Also Hints At IRON MAN 4 And IRON MAN 5

Kevin Feige and Robert Downey Jr. slightly drop hints that post-Avengers 2 plans could include Iron Man 4 and Iron Man 5. Even though there has been hyped-up talk of replacing Robert Downey Jr. as Stark (comparing the Iron Man role to Bond). Another person involved with the Iron Man franchise is hinting that more installments with Robert in the lead are a serious possibility. Director and co-writer Shane Black has spoke to Premiere (via CBM) that he's hopeful that Robert will be back for the fourth and fifth installment. Giving the impression that Iron Man 3 is the end of a trilogy, allowing new films to be their own thing.

“I have the feeling that the story that we have developed for Iron Man 3 actually concluded a trilogy, while [also] leaving the door open to a fourth. I had a lot of discussions on this subject: "Is that it is the last Iron Man for Robert? " . Something tells me that it will not be the case, and will be seen in a fourth, or fifth ... But I can be a little excited.” 

RDJ is back for Avengers 2 but beyond that other films haven't been announced or even confirmed by Marvel. Rumblings of a connection with Guardians of The Galaxy could see Stark leave Earth for some cosmic adventures. There are plenty of alien enemies that Stark could go up against. Not to mention a couple of staple ones that haven't been revealed in the films just yet. They include Ghost, Madame Masque (Whitney Frost), Roxxon, Grey Gargoyle, Count Nefaria (father of Frost), Crimson Dynamo, Ezekiel Stane (Obadiah Stane's son), Gregory Stark (Tony's older brother) and many more.  Plenty enough villains to push the franchise forward with a few more films. It all comes down to the box office numbers of Iron Man 3 along with being better received by fans and audiences than the last solo adventure. If it's another massive success like Avengers, it's sure thing we'll see more of RDJ as Stark.

Empire Reveals Their IRON MAN 3 Cover

Fan Made Iron Man 3 Poster