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Will he or won't he? Robert Downey Jr. can't give a straight answer on ‘Iron Man 4’

In his latest film “The Judge,” mega star Robert Downey Jr. plays a jaded big city lawyer who returns home to defend his ailing father (Robert Duvall) in a small town court case. The part couldn’t be more different from the actor’s most famous role - that of billionaire playboy genius superhero Tony Stark - and yet while promoting “The Judge,” all anyone seems to be able to ask Downey are questions about the future of Iron Man.

The 49-year-old actor is set to reprise the role of Stark in the next two “Avengers” films, but he’s been a little cagey about his Avenger alter ego as of late, offering vague answers and complaining that he’s getting too old for the role.

So is “Iron Man 4” ever going to happen? In recent interviews Downey’s answer has been both yes and no.

Last week in an interview with Deadline, Downey was finally a little more definitive, saying that he would do “Iron Man 4” if his good friend, scandal-plagued actor/director Mel Gibson, were allowed to direct the film. It was hardly a yes, but it did suggest that RDJ was at least open to the idea of a fourth standalone "Iron Man" movie.

Then on “Ellen” earlier this week, Downey flat-out said that “Iron Man 4” is going to happen.

"I know there's going to be more Marvel movies, and they have big ideas of how to do it best,” Downey told DeGeneres. “We're in the middle of negotiations... blah, blah, blah..."

“So yes?” DeGeneres prodded.

"OK, yes,” Downey said with a shrug. “Yes."

Marvel fans rejoiced, but later that day Downey backpedalled during an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

“Just between us, no,” Downey said when Letterman asked about “Iron Man 4.” “But I'm gonna do other stuff with Marvel. I'm still going to be involved with Marvel and there's gonna be plenty of fun stuff to happen."

Downey also mentioned that there is currently no script for “Iron Man 4,” but said that Marvel would reveal their plan for the character soon.

So "Iron Man 4" it sounds like a big maybe at the moment. All of Downey’s recent flip-flopping could be a calculated move on his part to demonstrate the public’s continued interest in Tony Stark and, in turn, his value as a Marvel asset.

But what of this other “stuff” Downey mentioned? Could he be alluding to a non-”Avengers,” non-”Iron Man” appearance for Tony Stark?

Rumours about a plan to make the famed “Civil War” storyline into a movie have been swirling for months. A film based on the comic book arc would essentially be an Iron Man versus Captain America movie, not unlike DC’s own “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” In the comics, a controversial law requiring all superheroes to be registered passes and Tony Stark and Steve Rogers find themselves on opposite ends of a debate. The storyline climaxed with the death of Captain America and resulted in a whole lot of bad blood between Stark and the rest of the Marvel universe.

Whether "Civil War" arrives in the form of "Iron Man 4," "Captain America 3," "Avengers 3," or as its own movie is still up in the air, but there's no way Marvel wouldn't try to turn one of their most famous crossover stories into a movie. The nature of the “Civil War” story also gives Downey and MCU co-star Chris Evans -- the two big screen Avengers who have made the most noise about wanting to do other things -- a convenient way out, should they want one.