Iron Man going to space? And RDJ about recasting Stark

There is a lot of responsibility resting on the shoulders of Iron Man 3. Not only does the movie have to make up for Iron Man 2 it also has to launch Marvel’s second phase in a post-Avengers world. So the movie not only has its own problems but needs to justify the solo movie in a world in which the audience knows that there is a hero around every corner.

So far Marvel Iron Man 3 looks to go into Iron Man Rises territory with Stark being defeated by an enemy who has ties to the first Iron Man movie (the ten rings have been hinted from the very beginning). Iron Man 3 will have a lot of different Iron Man suits (and a cynic might say that it is to sell more toys… which is probably one of the reasons) and aside from Tony’s golden armor which is featured in the trailers a new concept art has been released (via Comicbookmovie):

Does this mean the “Iron Man in Space” rumors are true? Or is it just a fatter suit after Tony gets beaten down in the movie? And what about the rumors about a whole army of Iron Man suits?

Plus EmpireMagazine has a very interesting article (quotations taken from Comicbookmovie) where Robert Downey Jr. addresses the question of recasting Iron Man in a James Bond fashion. Downey is already confirmed for The Avengers 2 but it is not yet clear if he will appear in the ongoing movies but will he let go of Iron Man?

“Let’s just say that the only thing I ever let go of had claw marks in it. There’s a little bit of soul reclamation going on. I feel that the first time I played Tony, I did it best. Sorry! The affinity with Tony now is: How do you sustain something? I’m not stupid, I like to play ball, I love the company, I love the character, and the business side of things, I’m not too picky about that either.”

Frankly I don’t envy the person who has to take up the Iron Man armor after Downey… it is like the guy who has to take over James Bond after Daniel Craig.