Robert Downey Jr. Teases His Departure From 'Iron Man'

There's a new set of Iron Man 3 images scanned from the new issue of Empire Magazine. But that's not the biggest news from Marvel's latest film.

If you haven't seen the photos from Empire's latest reveal, you can check that out here. Although it showcases nothing spoilerific, comic book fans will squeal knowing that Advanced Idea Mechanics (MODOK cameo, please?!) will appear in the film.

In addition to the photos, there are also a few quotes from Robert Downey Jr. about his inevitable departure from the role of Tony Stark. Do you think that he's playing his intentions close to the chest? There aren't any papers that have been signed signaling his come back, so we'll have to keep an eye out on this one.

Here's what he said:

"I feel that the first time I played Tony, I did it best... how do you sustain something? I'm not stupid, I like to play ball, I love the company, I love the character, and the business side of things, I'm not too picky about that either... Tony's going to carry on. Avengers 2 already has a release date... It would probably be the best thing in the world for me [to stop]... I don't have to overstay my welcome..."

Tony is rumored to be featured in a few other Marvel standalone films leading up into Avengers 2, so he could just be exhausted with having to suit up all the time and is looking for another challenge.

We'll have to wait and see what happens as Iron Man 3 will hit the theaters on May 3, 2013.

Props: Bleeding Cool