Robert Downey Jr. Retiring 'Iron Man'?: Marvel Super Hero Franchise Star Hints at Leaving Armor Behind to Focus on Family Legacy

In a new GQ cover interview, Robert Downey Jr. hints that he might be looking to retire from the Iron Man movie franchise in order to focus his energy on his own family legacy. This Marvel franchise has arguably been the most successful of comic book movies, resulting in two sequels (the third installment, Iron Man 3, is due out in theaters in less than a month) and other films such as Thor and Captain America which all have led to The Avengers, which is also set for a sequel treatment soon. He is a prefect actor to play the part of Tony Stark, so why is Downey thinking about leaving?

"It got me thinking about how big the message from your cosmic sponsor needs to be before you pick it up," the 48-year-old actor says. "How many genre movies can I do? How many follow-ups to a successful follow-up are actually fun?"

Robert continues, explaining his thoughts:

"I come from a family of very innovative writers and directors and actors and artists, and the circle of friends they were in were the people I heard having pun-offs playing poker at two in the morning, and it was just the most comforting aspect of my childhood. So there's this kind of legacy of souls from what I consider to be a very particular time in entertainment, and I'm sensing a return to that."

So what is next for the actor? Apparently he hopes to direct a horror movie, reminiscent of Halloween. He is also set to star in the film, saying it is about "a Village Voice reporter on the run."

Downey does admit that he will most likely miss the robotic suit and being a superhero. He says, "I'm going to have a bit of a crisis, because I probably haven't even fully ingested how much I've enjoyed it, how much it's meant."