LOS ANGELES -- Robert Downey Jr. will suit up for Captain America 3, which will kick off Marvel's "Civil War" storyline, according to a report published Monday evening.
Downey is in final negotiations to play Tony Stark in the film, which is set to open in Marvel's traditional first-week-of-May slot in 2016, according to Variety. Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo are set to direct Cap 3, and may be angling for a shot at future Avengers movies.
Marvel teased its move with a tweet Monday afternoon signaling that the Civil War comic-book crossover event from 2006 would come back next summer, alongside its "Secret Wars" event:
#CivilWar #1 -- Summer 2015 pic.twitter.com/o8732gL4lL— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 13, 2014
Civil War sees Stark and Steve Rogers on opposite sides of the Superhero Registration Act, a U.S. political initiative forcing all super-humans to reveal their identities and become government employees after an incident involving superheroes ends in disaster. Stark supports the initiative, while Rogers abhors it -- and their feud is bitter, personal and destructive.
That triggering event is almost surely Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which a sentient security robot designed by Stark wreaks unspeakable destruction on Earth. Feeling the guilt of what his creation wrought, Stark sides with the strict regulation of meta-humans.
Whether the Civil War through-line extends beyond Cap 3 remains to be seen; Marvel has 11 dates on its calendar between now and 2017, and it could very likely do a "crossover"-style event between characters, a model that has worked in the comic books for years.
One had the feeling on Monday that something big was coming from Marvel, which was especially stingy with movie news down at Comic-Con. Now that the cat's out of the bag, expect a flurry of information in the coming days, if not hours.