'Iron Man 4' movie news: Tony Stark sidelined, new Iron Man arrives?

"Iron Man 4" has not been made official yet except for Robert Downey Jr. expressing his interest to do another standalone film. However, there are rumors that the actor might not even take the lead in the film.

Due to the recent turn of events in the comic book world, the mantle of Iron Man has been given to a 15-year-old genius named Riri Williams, who is set to take over for Stark.

After the "Civil War II" event, Stark has chosen to retire and pass the torch. Riri Williams, whose genius allowed her to build her own Iron Man suit, is now being set up to take on the role.

According to the latest reports, "Iron Man 4" will reflect the changes in the comic books and will have Stark turn over the Iron Man mantle to Riri.

However, other rumors claim that it will be Doctor Doom and not Riri who will play Iron Man. In the comics, Doctor Doom was brought back from the "Secret Wars" event with a "remade" image.

With a change in costume and attitude, the villain has been turned into a new version of Iron Man. It is now being reported that "Iron Man 4" will go with this story instead.

However, the problem is the license for the character. Doctor Doom is currently owned by 20^{th Century FOX. Unless Marvel finds a way to bring him to the Marvel Cinematic Universe like it did with Spider-Man, "Iron Man 4" with Doctor Doom will be possible.}

According to MovieTechTVGeeks, the company may have already made the first step in bringing the villain as they kept him after "Secret Wars" while the other Fantastic Four members did not make a comeback.

This is believed to be Marvel's first move to squeeze Doctor Doom into the MCU. If this is the case, it is a mystery if they will go with "Iron Man 4" in introducing him to the fold.