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On the Iron Man 3 premiere red carpet we got to interview Joss Whedon, the Czar of the Marvel cinematic universe. The Avengers director -and creator of cult series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly- started by discussing the future of the actor who plays Tony Stark. But more interesting is what he told us about Thanos, the Mad Titan that appeared in the first post-credits scene of The Avengers.

What makes Robert Downey Jr. almost irreplaceable as Iron Man?

I am not the guy who should worry about him being replaced. He is Iron Man at this point. When I heard that he was cast I just knew that something has changed, and I don’t usually know stuff like that. I said “Now we are in a new phase”. The way he embodies it… I love working with him. Shane captures it so perfectly in this movie. I want him to play it forever. The great thing is that he has a flying metal suit. Is not like in those Charles Bronson or Roger Moore movies, when you are like “Dude, you can barely stand”. He’s got some fight in him. At the same time, if Robert decides to hang it up, he has a perfectly good excuse.

The Avengers are very powerful. Why they should be concerned about someone like Thanos?

Well, Thanos is more powerful. He is so powerful he is not someone you can just try out and punch him. Like he did in the comics, you want him to be threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finally. But he is definitely part of what I have going on. The thing about the Avengers is that they are very powerful but they are not very stable. So, there will definitely be some people that will shake them up in the next installment.

What follows is pure speculation but just in case ‘Spoilers Alert’

Whedon emphasizing the elusive character of Thanos and the idea of saving him for “the big finale” strongly suggests that he won’t be defeated until The Avengers 3, the final chapter of Marvel Phase Three. This is reinforced by the mention of other villains “shaking up” the heroes in The Avengers 2.

Will all Avengers team-up with the Guardians of the Galaxy for that big final battle against Thanos?

Could Marvel Phase 3 look something like this: Ant-Man (2015), Thor 3, Captain America 3 (2016), Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017) and The Avengers 3 (2018)?

Will there be an Iron Man 4 and a Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after that big event?

We don’t know, but in Whedon we trust. Check out our video interview.

Bonus “post-interview scene”: