While fans of 'Iron Man', the superhero film series based on Marvel Comics, are eager to know when they can expect the fourth installment of the hit franchise, Robert Downey Jr., who portrays the masked superhero, has confirmed that there will not be an 'Iron Man 4' anytime soon.

In fact, when the actor extended his contract with Marvel Studios confirming his appearances in 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' as well as the 'Avengers 3', there was no mention about the possibilities of his appearance in an 'Iron Man 4'. This led fans to believe that there would be no 'Iron Man 4' coming out, and this was recently confirmed by Downey Jr. himself.

Talking to Variety recently, Downey Jr. gave a very curt response when asked about 'Iron Man 4'. He said, "There isn't one in the pipe. No, there's no plan for a fourth 'Iron Man'."

In fact, people who are somewhat familiar with the history of contract talks between Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel should not be very surprised that his reprisal will not extend past 'The Avengers 3'.

When Downey Jr. was asked if he would "let" somebody else play Tony Stark the actor laughed off the idea. He said, "I like that the idea is that it would be up to me, like I'm casting director for Marvel."

Statistically speaking, the biggest draw in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is that Downey Jr. has the upper hand in negotiations with the company - so much as that the actor even compelled the company to pay him $50 million for his work in 'The Avengers', an amount that he himself has confirmed.

In fact, owing to such tough tactics, there was a time when there was a possibility that the Oscar-nominee would not be featuring in 'The Avengers 2'. At that time, the writer/director Joss Whedon had even said that he wouldn't do the movie without him. Therefore, it is not difficult see why Marvel may not be eager to jump back into contract extension conversations for an 'Iron Man 4'.