Mark Wahlberg directed a parody skit for Official Comedy featuring Tony Stark with a Boston accent. While it wasn't him in front of the camera, he has stated that he would love the role of Iron Man.

The Official Comedy skit was meant to poke fun at Ben Affleck being chosen for the Batman role. There was a vocal group of critics who pointed out that Affleck would make a bad Batman for that reason.

However, during a promo for his movie with Denzel Washington "2 Guns" Wahlberg did say that he would like the role.

From Yahoo UK:  "I would like to take over the "Iron Man" franchise for Robert Downey. It's one of those things where I kind of like playing real people, [so] I've never been asked."

Wahlberg is currently busy with another franchise. He is the lead human on "Transformers 4." There were no details on whether he has a muti-picture deal (assuming that Transformers will continue) or it's a one-shot thing.  In any case, Wahlberg, while only slightly younger than RDJ, (42 versus 48) he would be more capable of a physical role than Downey.

The idea of multiple actors playing Iron Man was floated by Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios. He told Entertainment Weekly:

"I believe there will be a fourth 'Iron Man' and a fifth, sixth and a 10th and a 20th. I see no reason why Tony Stark can't be as evergreen as James Bond, Batman, or for that matter, Spider-Man."

It should be noted that those statements were mentioned just after "Iron Man 3" was shown and Marvel was still trying to negotiate with Downey after they had an impasse. It could be just posturing on his part.

Now that "Iron Man 3" has exceeded the $1 billion mark, one must wonder who gains the advantage: Is it proof of RDJ's bankability or does it enhance the idea that Iron Man has enough fanboys to sustain it even if they lost Downey fans?

Marvel has five to six years to think about it, with "Avengers 3" featuring Robert Downey, Jr as Iron Man has a 2018 projected release date. Is Mark Wahlberg the answer? Will Rhodes (Don Cheadle) don the Iron Man suit, or will Marvel choose a totally younger actor for a new Iron Man?