Less than two weeks after it was announced that Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain would be starring alongside Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in Iron Man 3, Jessica has dropped out of the project! She made the announcement on her Facebook page Sunday.

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"Sorry to say that Iron Man 3 isn't going to work out," Jessica wrote. "Myschedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in. The press announcedmy possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to beinvolved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be anotherMarvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the IM3 team are reallywonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out. xx"

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A few speculations:

- Jessica's schedule must be really, really busy for her to turn down such a high-profile role! And just one glance at her IMDb profile proves it -- in the next year alone, she's got SIX movies coming out. Talk about in-demand!

- It's somewhat surprising that Jessica made the announcement on Sunday in the midst of all the Avengers hoopla. It sounds like she's known for a while that she wouldn't be able to commit to Iron Man 3, so I wonder why she waited until she saw just how big her involvement in the Iron Man lore could possibly get before saying no. If I were her, I would have backed out before the Avengers opened so I wouldn't feel tempted to say yes to all the money and glory being involved in the series would afford me!

- Jessica's praise of the Iron Man team and her hopes of being involved in another Marvel film in the future lead me to believe that maybe, just maybe, they've offered her her own comic book movie. We need more female superheroes, right? And it only makes sense for Jessica to say no to a supporting role in an already-established franchise in favor of a leading role in a brand new one!

Do you have any speculations of your own as to the reasons behind Jessica's dropping out of Iron Man 3?

Photo courtesy of Fame Pictures