He’s baaaaccckk!!! No, not William Shatner as Captain Kirk — that was yesterday’s Movie Morsels. Today it’s Robert Downey Jr.’s turn to start some buzz about returning in a signature film role — namely Tony Stark! What’s that? You say you prefer spies to superheroes? Well, we’ve got some news for you from the world of James Bond AND Jason Bourne. Still not enough? How about an update on the Independence Day sequel, pictures from Mark Wahlberg’s next film, and a Halloween treat featuring the late Michael Jackson? Yes, all this goodness awaits you below…

Iron Man 4

UPDATED: 

After giving us plenty of false hope on Ellen, Robert Downey Jr. went on Late Show with David Letterman and cleared the air. There are currently no plans for an Iron Man 4, but he will continue to do projects with Marvel. Alas and alack. Now to return to the other 900 superhero projects on the burner.

ORIGINAL:

Yes, Virginia, there will be an Iron Man 4… After telling us that a fourth Iron Man wasn’t happening, then telling us that it could happen, Robert Downey Jr. has come clean on Ellen (after some persistent questioning on the part of the show’s host) and admitted that there shall indeed be an Iron Man 4. No word on when it will happen, who will direct, or what it will be about, but for those of us who’d like another solo film featuring the armored Avenger post-Age of Ultron, it’s happy news nonetheless. [JoBlo]

Section 6

The as-yet-untitled twenty-fourth James Bond movie won’t hit US theaters until November 6, 2015, but the superspy is already neck-deep in conflict. Universal’s plans for Section 6, a film chronicling the development of the UK’s intelligence agency (a/k/a Bond’s organization, MI6), have been a little too close to the 007 franchise for MGM’s liking. So the studio, partnered with Bond film production company Danjaq, filed a lawsuit against Universal back in April. Universal tried to dismiss that suit in May, but a federal court ruled last month that there was enough similarity between the two studios’ projects to justify concern over copyright infringement. Now, Universal has fired the latest shot in the battle, stating that the “plaintiffs’ lawsuit is the desperate attempt of a rival studio to misuse its copyrights in order to kill a competitor’s project before it even gets off the ground.” Your move, Mr. Bond. [Deadline]

Bourne 5

Of course Bond’s true rival for big-screen espionage dominance is Jason Bourne. And with last month’s news that star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass are returning to the franchise, fans might still be confused as to where that leaves the Justin Lin-directed follow-up to Jeremy Renner’s Bourne Legacy. Not to worry, Renner (also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I.M. Force) assures us. “It’s still moving,” he says. “We have our director, who’s actually run off to do the True Detective series right now, and then, while that’s happening, they’re finishing writing the script. I know Greengrass and Damon… well, I’ve heard have maybe cracked an idea. A reason to continue the Bourne series, which is fantastic. They have created a very exciting universe, and hopefully in my mind I’d love for us to do something together. If not on the next one, sometime very soon. I think that would be really great. I know I want it. I feel like the fans want it as well.” Renner added that he’d like to see a crossover film featuring both Bourne actors… The next Jason Bourne movie is slated for July 16, 2016. But which Bourne will it feature? [Coming Soon]

The Gambler

“You prepare your whole life for a part like this,” says Mark Wahlberg of his upcoming The Gambler. “I was living on adrenaline.” A remake of the 1974 film of the same name, the film finds Wahlberg playing a college professor with an out-of-control gambling addiction. The actor lost sixty pounds for his role, of which Wahlberg adds, “Comments we’ve been getting from the test screenings include ‘I never thought I would see Mark Wahlberg as a professor, but I believed it and went along for the ride.'” Well, we did see Wahlberg as a teacher in The Happening, but, like the rest of us, I’m sure he’s blocked that film from memory. The Gambler — co-starring Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, and John Goodman — comes out to play on December 19th. The first images from the film can be seen below. [The Playlist]

Independence Day

ID Forever, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin’s long-in-development sequel to Independence Day, will feature actor Jeff Goldblum and his character David Levinson, and a script may have been turned in already. “I had a meeting and have been talking over the last several months or year with Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin,” says Goldblum, “and they’ve been cooking up and say they have a part for me in what they hope will be a plan to make another one pretty soon.” The actor added that rewrites on the script may already be complete: “They’re still talking about it and I’ve heard recent rumblings here and there about it, and ‘Oh, there’s a scripting coming in’ — maybe last weekend there was a script handed in, so it’s brewing.” The film is scheduled for release on July 1, 2016. [MovieWeb]

Thriller 3D

We’ll leave you today with a little something for Nerdoween… John Landis has earned a reputation as a fright filmmaker on the basis of just two projects: the horror comedy An American Werewolf in London and the music video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller — each of which redefined their respective sub-genres in the early ’80s. Now, Landis has announced he’s planning a 3D version of his landmark 1983 video, which features Rick Baker’s startling makeup effects, Vincent Price’s unforgettable narration, and, of course, the “Thriller” dance. After finally settling a lawsuit he filed shortly before Jackson’s 2009 death for fifty percent of the video’s net profits, Landis is hoping to release Thriller 3D in theaters or on home video next year. [Slashfilm]

Share your thoughts on today’s stories below, or let me know what you think on Twitter (@jmacabre).

Images: Marvel, MGM, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, MJJ Productions Inc.