Robert Downey Jr. has a lot of clout these days – and a lot of cash – thanks to the success of Iron Man and The Avengers. But there was a time when nobody would hire him because of his drug addiction. Almost nobody. One of the few Hollywood names who would lend the troubled star a helping hand was Mel Gibson, who secured Downey a part in The Singing Detective (not a bad film, but make sure you watch the original BBC production). Downey has never forgotten Gibson’s kindness, and now that the tables have turned, it’s Downey who can make a difference in Gibson’s fortunes. If things go his way, he’ll have Gibson directing Iron Man 4. In an interview with Deadline, Downey says that Gibson “has changed so much. Nobody should make a case for somebody who just wants forgiveness but hasn’t changed, but he’s a fundamentally different guy.”
Will there even be a fourth installment of Iron Man? Downey has said he isn’t interested in doing it, but when Deadline posed the possibility of Gibson directing, the actor’s response was “Why not? That movie would be bananas.” It wouldn’t be the first time that Downey tried to get Gibson involved with Marvel. He is rumored to have tried to get Gibson cast on The Avengers: Age of Ultron. At this point the existence of Iron Man 4 lies in the middle-ground between rumor and wish; it probably won’t happen. If it does, it will cost Marvel a shed-load of money to have Downey in it; hiring a bete-noir like Gibson to direct might just be too much of a risk for the studio.
