Robert Downey Jr. open to Mel Gibson-directed 'Iron Man 4'

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Fans hungry for an Iron Man 4 should apparently seek help from Mel Gibson.

Star Robert Downey Jr. announced he will not return for a new installment in September, but has since told Deadline he would do the movie if Gibson were director.

"Correct," the actor confirmed. "Why not? That movie would be bananas."

All jokes aside, Downey revealed his future with the franchise is still being discussed on "a bunch of different levels." Iron Man will appear in Avengers: The Age of Ultron in 2015 and a third Avengers film, but the actor and Marvel Studios are unsure of the character's longevity as a solo lead. Downey will turn 50 years old in April, and admitted to feeling his age on the set of Iron Man 3.

"It becomes a matter of, at what point do I cease to be an asset to what they're doing, and at what point do I feel I am spending so much time either shooting or promoting these films that I'm not actually able to get off the beachhead and do the kind of other stuff that is good for all of us," he shared.

"Each one of these movies is spread over two years and some people fit other things in," he elaborated. "But I'm not 42, I'm turning 50 and now I'll have two small kids instead of one grown one... It all has become this thing that has to be figured out. It has come to a head, right now, where the points of departure will be."

Downey will next appear alongside Robert Duvall in The Judge. The David Dobkin-directed film opens in theaters Oct. 10.