Bob Layton worked on writing Iron Man back in the day and in a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Times, he gave his thoughts about Tony Stark’s fate in Avengers 4.
“I am only speculating, but I will guess that (Robert Downey Jr.) is done. He has been doing the same role for over 10 years now, and I think as with any actor sometimes, it is time to move on.
So, do you think Tony Stark dies?
That is one way of doing it, but I’d only be guessing. I know this — I wouldn’t want to recast Tony Stark. Who would want to try to top Downey? But, if Tony doesn’t come back, they can put somebody else in the armor and start a new generation of Iron Man.”
As he points out, killing Tony off would be “one way of doing it,” and I think it’s the most likely. I know many people are thinking Steve Rogers will die (including myself), but I feel like we all get caught up in only Steve or Tony will die. Why can’t both die? It is possible that Tony will just retire and then mentor the new Iron Man (or maybe they’ll bring in Iron Heart!), but with how many times he’s said he’s done being a superhero just to show up in another film, I don’t think that’s very likely. What fate do you think awaits Tony Stark in Avengers 4?