Downey Jr. surprised by Avengers success
Robert Downey Jr. was "surprised" at the success of 'Avengers Assemble'.
The 47-year-old actor portrays Iron Man/Tony Stark in the comic book movie and while the Hollywood star is looking forward to reprising the role in forthcoming film 'Iron Man 3', he hopes director Shane Black will further "explore" his alter-ego and his character's friend James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) in the movie.
Robert said: "'The Avengers' even surprised us, to a certain extent. Looking back on it, you can dissect why it was the right movie with the right people and the right director, at the right time, and we feel the same way about this now.
"I feel that Rhodey and Tony had not entirely been explored as much as they could be. That was always a big part of the comics, and the heart of it. We also tried to be practical, in a post-Avengers world.
What are his challenges now? What are some limitations that might be placed on him? And what sort of threat would have him, as usual, ignore those limitations?"
Robert believes there will be more sides to his alter-ego in 'Iron Man 3', and is hoping Shane - who helmed 2005 crime/comedy 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' - takes inspiration from his previous work.
Speaking at Comic-Con, he added: "Yeah, I think that's the big idea. But also, interestingly enough, this film has a lot of breadth to it. We realised, at the beginning of 'Iron Man 2', Tony was dying, and then he had a party, and then he was drunk, and some people were going, 'We don't like him!'
"There's a way to enjoy all of that shadowy stuff. We just kept thinking about, 'What would it really be like, if this guy was in this country? Where else could he go in this country? What sorts of themes and backdrops could we explore?'
"If you look to the history of the films that Shane has written and directed, there's a real desire for me, just as someone who loves the movies, to harken back to some of those themes, and they will occur in 'Iron Man 3'."
