The Real Reason Marvel Decided Not To Make Iron Man 4

Iron Man is the greatest of all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — so why did his solo films stop at three?

In a recent Vanity Fair interview, Avengers: Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely shed some light on why the Armored Avenger never got a fourth solo outing. Simply put, the scribes related that Marvel Studios brass felt that another flick centered on the adventures of the MCU's most popular character would've been a little bit too safe.

McFeely made the point that Marvel has never been particularly interested in doing exactly what's expected of it. For evidence, he pointed to its decision to take a chance on one property in particular — James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy — rather than cranking out sequels for its most popular Avengers one after another.

McFeely explained:

"Whether you like all of the 24 movies or not, the capital that Marvel built up allowed them to do things like make a movie starring a raccoon and a tree, right? You would've already had Iron Man 4 if it was any other studio. But they decided, 'No, we're going to take chances on all these other things.'"

To illustrate further how Marvel's affinity for risk-taking has paid off, the scribes suggested that we should look no further than Endgame — the highest-grossing film of all time, and one that definitively removed Iron Man and Captain America, the MCU's most recognizable players, from its increasingly crowded board.

McFeely admitted, quote, "To put a flag in the ground and say, 'We're going to end something and take characters off the table' is, I think, kind of daring, but selfishly it was really great for us."

Markus then chimed in with the final word not only on why Iron Man 4 never happened and never will, but why Tony Stark had to meet his end at the conclusion of Endgame.

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