Robert Downey Jr. can aptly be credited for having kickstarted a golden age for Marvel via 2008’s Iron Man. A stepping stone for the Avengers and the plethora of superheroes and villains that have since played a major role in the MCU, the movie in itself was not shot in the most straightforward of ways.
Not only did it include a range of improvised dialogues and scenes, it also included a plethora of subtext that further added to the enigma that became Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. This, also led to a particular scene and dialog which led to an argument between the movie director, Jon Favreau, and the U.S. Department of Defense liaison that they hired, Phil Strub.
So much so that the scene eventually had to be altered, something Favreau was initially displeased with. However, the changed line not only got approved quite easily, but was also not included in the final version of Iron Man.
Jon Favreau fought for one Iron Man dialogue which he did not include in the final movie
While the MCU, owing to its commitment to be family-friendly, has largely kept things subtle in most of its offerings, one Iron Man scene did flirt with boundaries. In it, Tony is seen flirting with two women, and ends up teasing a threesome before he has to receive a call and asks the ladies to ‘start off without him.’
The scene begins with Tony asking the two women to choose a number between one and five. When they reply with ‘three,’ he says, ‘Exactly,’ and walks away with the two ladies. The scene is followed by a U.S. military personnel claiming that he would ‘kill himself’ for the kind of opportunities that Stark casually gets.
Of course, while completely understandable, Phil Strub revealed that he did not approve this dialogue simply because it felt like an “an enlisted man” was making “light of su*cide.” Favreau proceeded to fight for it, to no avail. He then angrily suggested that he could change the dialogue to something along the lines of walking over hot coal for the kind of opportunities Tony Stark gets.
This change was immediately approved by Strub, who revealed that the Iron Man director was surprised by the fact that getting it approved was ‘that easy.’ (Via Looper) Of course, considering the dialogue did not make it to the final version of the movie, the effort and discussions ultimately proved fruitless.
The MCU has come a long way since 2008’s Iron Man
Iron Man brought forth a new era for Marvel which spurred a golden age for the company. The MCU allowed Kevin Feige and co. to monetize some of their best IPs, which has till date resulted in almost $30 billion in profits. Of course, for the longest time, the franchise itself stuck to its commitment to staying PG-13, and even when dealing with sensitive matters, they did it in subtle ways.
That, however, is now set to change via Deadpool & Wolverine, which seems to be not only the logical next step, but also a needed one, considering the kind of response the MCU has received in recent years.
What began as a franchise committed to subtlety even with characters like Tony Stark, will now lean into the kind of unhindered crassness that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool represents. While a remarkable journey, Robert Downey Jr. will undoubtedly believe that his own depiction of Iron Man could have been even better had the MCU given up its pretense of subtlety right from the very beginning.
Of course, there are a range of reasons why things were done the way they were, which is why Deadpool & Wolverine takes even more importance in the overall MCU. Rather than it being a movie that introduces and re-introduces some iconic characters, it is also a step in the right direction for the MCU, and an indicator of what the future might hold for the franchise.
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26, 2024.
