Robert Downey, Jr. on Leaving Iron Man and Tony Stark

For how long can Robert Downey, Jr. play Iron Man? It's a nice problem for Marvel to have, one supposes, considering that it was only five years ago when the first Iron Man film was about to come out and the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe was an unproven concept.

But the fact is, Downey, Jr. is getting expensive for Marvel. The notoriously cost-conscious studio reportedly had to fork over upwards of $50 million to the actor for The Avengers, including box office bonuses and backend compensation. Plus, word has it that Downey, Jr.'s contract is up after Iron Man 3 hits this May, so Empire recently asked Tony Stark himself how much longer he might stick around in the metal suit.

"Let's just say that the only thing I ever let go of had claw marks in it," Downey, Jr. said in that typical Downey, Jr. way. "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."

Of course, Marvel's head honcho Kevin Feige has floated the possibility of replacing Downey, Jr. eventually, James Bond style. "I hope Downey makes a lot of movies for us as Stark," Feige said back in April. "If and when he doesn't, and I'm still here making these movies, we don't take him to Afghanistan and have him wounded again. I think we James Bond it."

Empire asked the actor how he would feel about that, but he doesn't seem to be sweating it.

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"It would probably be the best thing in the world for me," he said. "You know, ego... but sometimes ego just has to be smashed. Let's see what happens. I take the audience very seriously - I feel bad when I see folks doing movies and the audience is like, 'Don't do that anymore.' I don't have to overstay my welcome..."

My humble suggestion would be to blast Tony off into space or something once you know Downey, Jr. is done -- send him on a mission from which the actor/character might eventually return years later for a cameo or grand return appearance. But what do you guys think? Will it still be Iron Man if a different actor is playing him?

Via CBM

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

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