Last night huge news hit that Robert Downey Jr. has signed on to star in Captain America 3, which would jump start Marvel's Civil War storyline in their cinematic universe. A lot of fans are extremely excited about all of this. I know I am!

Joe and Anthony Russo are the directors who brought us Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was an amazing movie. They are now in the process of bringing the highly anticipated Captain America 3 to the screen. It sounds like the Marvel movies they direct wont stop there. If Joss Whedon decides not to come back to direct Avengers 3 and 4, the Russo brothers may be the guys to jump in and replace him. The rumor comes from Badass Digest who says,

"How closely will Captain America 3 tie in with Avengers 3? I’ve been told that the Russo Brothers are in talks to direct Avengers 3 and possibly 4. Sources tell me that they’re the favorites of Marvel right now and that they are the guys Kevin Feige want [sic] to pick up the mantle from Joss Whedon."

They did a hell of job with The Winter Soldier, and I can only imagine Captain America 3 will be even better. Marvel obviously loves working with these guys, and you know what? If anyone comes in to replace Whedon on the Avengers films, it should be them.

Possible SPOILERS for upcoming Marcel movies ahead.

There's a good chance that Whedon won't return for Avengers 3. He may want to take a break from giant superhero movies when he's done with it. The report goes on to offer a few details about Age of Ultron and how it will lead to Captain America 3's Civil War story saying, "The fallout of Avengers: Age of Ultron is going to be huge in this movie. There is a lot of destruction in that film. It makes an impact." They go on to say,

"More than that, Marvel is looking at Cap 3 as Avengers 2.5. It's going to be another ensemble picture, and it could feature Cap's new team from the end of Age of Ultron. Last I heard (and they haven't shot this scene yet, so it could change) that team is Falcon, War Machine, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Black Widow, as well as probably The Vision (although I have been told Black Widow will not be much of a presence in Cap 3). And once again the events of a Captain America movie will reshape the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

And in case you're wondering how Thanos plays into this whole storyline, the site says,

"Remember when I told you Cap wouldn't be in Avengers 3? This is why. At the end of Cap 3 the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be in a tough, dark place, with the heroes scattered and defeated. That will continue through Avengers 3, and it will leave the world open to the threat of Thanos in either Avengers 4 or the big universe-wide team-up movie, whichever comes first."

The Marvel cinematic universe is about to go really dark, and it's going to be interesting to see how they handle the material. It's obviously not going to be a direct adaptation of Civil War, but the main themes are definitely going to be used. Badass Digest offers up a little insight into it, explaining,

"I know that at the end of Age of Ultron Tony Stark retires from The Avengers and possibly even from being Iron Man. He feels very responsible for what happened in that film, as the Ultron project was his brainchild. Here's my guess for Cap 3: with that in mind, and aware of the destruction his out of control robot caused, Tony thinks that the Age of Miracles is too unregulated. With the fall of SHIELD there's simply no one keeping tabs on everybody. That scene of Black Widow in front of the Congressional committee in The WInter Soldier was a late addition, and it speaks to this - these super beings are answering to no one. And Tony decides that's wrong. Which brings him into direct conflict with Captain America, who is still leading a team of Avengers. I don't think this will follow the exact outline of the comic book story, but simply take the concept and the beloved Marvel idea of heroes battling."

As for the possibility of Captain America dying in the movie, the site says that multiple sources say that the title of Captain America 3 could be Captain America: Fallen Son. There's no confirmation of that, but I could see it happening.

Marvel is truly breaking new ground with their storytelling, and this upcoming phase they are developing is going to be mind-blowing.