With three solo films under his belt, the world doesn't want to see the end of Robert Downey Jr. as "Iron Man." The superhero franchise has been one of the most lucrative, successful and enjoyable modern superhero film adaptations to date, but will there be a fourth film? 

While in Toronto promoting his new film, "The Judge," the 49-year-old actor shared something that may break his fans' hearts. "There isn't one in the pipe," he said, in an interview with Variety.

The "Sherlock Holmes" actor added, "No, there's no plan for a fourth ‘Iron Man.'"

While the actor confirmed that a film is not in the works, the actor didn't say, with finality, that a film can't happen in the future. For Marvel and "Iron Man" fans, that's something to hold on to. 

Recalling a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, he indicated that the ball is in the studio's court.

"It's down to Kevin [Feige, Marvel Studios president] and Ike [Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment] and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and that's on us to agree or disagree," explained Downey. "When things are going great, there's a lot of agreement."

When asked about his desire to continue being "Iron Man," he said, "It's that thing of: Why give up the belt when it feels like you can barely get jabbed?" He added: "Most people are saying that right when they get knocked out."

It seems that a fourth installment is still in the realm of possibilities but it's not something that is being tackled at the moment. As of now, Downey has signed on for two "Avengers" sequels, with the first, "Age of Ultron" for release in 2015 and the following in 2018.

Marvel has already plotted the release dates of a number of films until 2019 with some pending a film title. MTV listed the dates below:

May 1, 2015 - "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
July 17, 2015 - "Ant-Man"
May 6, 2016 - "Captain America 3″
July 8, 2016 - Unconfirmed (But rumored to be "Doctor Strange")
May 5, 2017 - Unconfirmed
July 27, 2017 - "Guardians of the Galaxy 2″
November 3, 2017 - Unconfirmed
May 4, 2018 - Unconfirmed
July 6, 2018 - Unconfirmed
November 2, 2018 - Unconfirmed
May 3, 2019 - Unconfirmed

One thing is for sure, though. "Avengers 2: Age of Ultron" is set for release May 1, 2015 with a trailer yet to be revealed.

What do you think? Could a fourth "Iron Man" film fill in one of those unconfirmed dates?