Although a leading man has not yet officially been attached, Marvel has gone ahead and cleared a spot for another Iron Man film.

The studio, which already had options for two more sequels, immediately greenlighted the second installment after their record-busting weekend.  Given that Robert Downey Jr. has been widely credited for making the well-received film a success, it’s expected he’ll be bargaining with execs for a larger paycheck.  Meanwhile, Marvel is reportedly set to talk with the actor and director Jon Favreau about the follow-up’s general storyline soon.

Assuming negotiations go well, we should be expecting to see Iron Man 2 - with Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard - on April 30, 2010.