Why Robert Downey Jr is here to stay as Tony Stark

The actor plays Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the Marvel film adaptations and told Empire his reasons behind agreeing to more instalments starting with Captain America: Civil War.

He said of Chris Evans, who plays Captain America: “I’m crazy about Evans. I really am. I don’t know why or how to explain this particular kinship we have.”

Talking about the script, he added: “I remember glancing through it going, ‘Wow, that’s a different way to go’. They said, ‘If we have you, we can do this or Cap 3 has to be something else’. It’s nice to feel needed.”

Robert explained of his ongoing involvement: “At this point it ceases being about announcements of contracts and deal points and Forbes and all that. And to see Chadwick (Boseman) being announced for Black Panther, I go, ‘Wow, man, Marvel is making all the right moves and they’re not doing it because it’s PC, they’re doing it because it’s exciting’.

“So why would I be the one to go, ‘I’m not going on the road. I don’t get along with the keyboardist’. Who cares? Who cares?

“And look, I also recognise that I’ll be turning 50 by the time I promote this movie. The clock is ticking down on the amount of memories and participation that I would allow myself and not embarrass the medium with. And when they pitched it to me and when I had a couple of ideas and when they said we like those ideas, let’s do those. Then there’s all this competition too.”

He went on: “I don’t do this because I look at it as a competition, but I look at the marketplace and go, ‘Maybe if these two franchises teamed up and I can take even a lesser position in support, with people I like and directors I respect, maybe we can keep things bumping along here a little longer than they might have’.”