Robert Downey Jr. In Talks for 'Captain America 3' for Marvel 'Civil War' Storyline

It's a Civil War on the big screen!

Robert Downey Jr. is in talks for Captain America 3 to bring Marvel's huge Civil War storyline to life. The epic comic book story centers on the battle for superhero rights, as the U.S. Government requires superhumans to register their identities and abilities through the Superhero Registration Act. The conflict brings Tony Stark into conflict with Steve Rogers, as Iron Man supporting the initiative while Captain America opposes it. They each lead factions as the conflict grows among the superhero community, and moral and ethical concerns are raised.

Marvel is rebooting the Civil War comic book miniseries in 2015 to coincide with this decision, although it will have pretty big shoes to fill if the new story plans on surpassing the 2006 original, which featured not only The Avengers, but significant crossovers from such Marvel mainstays as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Fantastic Four.

Captain America 3 is scheduled to begin production this spring for a May 6, 2016, release, which will keep Downey a busy man following the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which premieres in theaters in May 2015.

Further details from Variety:

Originally, Marvel wanted to hire Downey for a small role, which would have required just three weeks of work. But Downey wanted Stark to have a more substantial role in the film’s plot, which would give him more screen time and naturally a bigger payday. This angered Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter, who ordered the screenwriters to write Iron Man out of the script entirely, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Even though the deal appeared dead, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Downey’s reps at CAA continued talks in hopes of working out their issues. Feige was bent on executing his grand vision for extending the life of the Marvel characters over many years.

The executive needed his boss to see the big picture, considering the introduction of the Civil War story is seen as a way to drive the plots of sequels and new franchises for the next seven years, given the dramatic possibilities it offers for future films. The fallout from the government and Stark’s actions would factor into a new “Avengers 4? film and beyond that will assemble new characters being introduced like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, among others, in their own movies.

Reportedly, Downey will earn roughly $40 million plus backend participation for his role in Captain America 3, which is only $10 million less than he's making for The Avengers: Age of Ultron. And that's not all, as sources claim he'll get an additional payout if Captain America 3 outgrosses the $714 million worldwide gross of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The idea is that if the third movie crushes the second, it will prove that Downey was the draw. That said, I would argue the Civil War storyline itself could also be considered the draw, particularly if we get crossovers from other Marvel movies.

That said, Downey's involvement is among the first significant plot details we've gotten about the sequel, which will see Anthony and Joe Russo returning to the director's chair, and writing the alongside Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Frank Grillo is also expected to return as Crossbones, a villain from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, the size of his role is uncertain. Regardless, this should be one of the biggest films of 2016. Hell, DC might actually be proven wise for moving Batman v. Superman's release date to March 2016 to get the hell away from it.

Via: Variety

Credit: Marvel