The hotly anticipated "Iron Man 2" may only be three months away from theaters, but Robert Downey Jr. is already looking ahead to "The Avengers" as a culmination of the first four years of movies from Marvel Studios.
"It's the pinnacle, but only if it's done in the smartest and best and most creatively sound way possible," Downey told SFX Magazine, (via ComicBookMovie.com).
"And I'm not saying we can't get there. I'm just saying it would be better to get there and not stay on schedule than to get everyone what they were hoping for in terms of a release date but not do it correctly. And by correctly, I mean my way," laughed Downey.
Downey also spoke at length about Tony Stark's mindset during the events of "Iron Man 2."
"In 'Iron Man 2,' Tony's psyche undergoes quite a rupture because he no longer has that kind of was trade to tweak on," Downey elaborated. "What's a fella to do? He's thinking more about his legacy and about sustaining his own corporeal being, which has always been a problem, and now obviously comes much more to the fore because he essentially has a nuclear reactor as part of his anatomy!"
"There's a dark side to Tony Stark because of his impending death. But there are also all the people and characters around him who bring him to life," continued Downey. "There's this huge world that's so much fun, and it's great to go back there, erase the chalkboard with Jon [Favreau] and say, 'Okay. This thing came out, people really liked it and it did great business, but what are we going to do now?'"
SFX Magazine also spoke with three classic Marvel creators about their impressions of the upcoming "Thor" and "Captain America" movies as well as "The Avengers."
Roy Thomas:
“Even though I wrote far more stories than Stan Lee did, I’d actually like to see something that had the spirit of those early issues of 'The Avengers,' when they were first getting together to fight somebody. They didn’t know each other, and one of them is the Hulk, who doesn’t know or like anybody. I think it’ll be good to see the Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man all coming together. I wish they could find a way to adapt aspects of the fourth issue, so they’d deal with unfreezing Captain America from World War 2.”
Gene Colan:
“I think Captain America should be portrayed much like in the book. They’ll probably enhance it and go a step further with some things. They tried it before, many years ago, but it wasn’t successful and didn’t go anywhere. Maybe this time they’ll cast a good player in that role.”
Walt Simonson:
“What I’d really like from 'Thor' - whether it has elements of the comic that I did or Stan and Jack or Gerry Conway or Len Wein or anybody else - I’d like to see them put into a coherent two-hour-and-ten-minute movie. What I’d like is a cracking good story, because it seems to me that so often in films, the story itself doesn’t really seem to have been thought out fully. I’m assuming the direction will be fine and that the whole thing will look nifty. I just want it to be a kick-ass movie!”
Last week, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige also spoke with SFX Magazine about potential "Ant Man", "Doctor Strange" and "Iron Fist" movies.
Which projects do you think Marvel Studios should adapt after "The Avengers"? Should Downey and the other lead actors have creative input on the story? Let us know what you think in our comment section below or on Twitter!