Iron Man became one of the most iconic characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all thanks to the initial trilogy. Starting in 2008, Robert Downey Jr helped kick off an entire universe, and now a multiverse, that still has fans hooked across the globe. The second part specifically was extremely memorable, not only because we saw Tony Stark grace the screen again, but also because it was the first appearance for many characters who became iconic in the future. Despite its success, such high-profile projects also increased the stakes for the MCU as an overall entity.
It is quite common for behind-the-scenes conflicts to influence a project’s development. When it comes to Iron Man 2, however, there were a lot of things that could have affected the development of, not only the future of the film but, also the Marvel franchise as a whole. Here are a few examples of how this movie almost derailed the MCU.
Made Godfather of MCU Jon Favreau Leave Iron Man 3
Jon Favreau was responsible for the start of the MCU through the first Iron Man film. Despite this, when it came to the second part, he and Marvel Studios were butting heads quite a lot when it came to who would have a bigger influence on the film’s plot. Favreau wanted to focus on the story of Iron Man and the movie itself. On the other hand, the higher-ups at Marvel wanted to set up The Avengers by making S.H.I.E.L.D. a bigger part of the film than it already was.
This resulted in quite a few disputes, so much so that the script was getting rewritten, while the film was actively shooting. Had Favreau not taken this stance, this film would have been a lot different than what fans got. This entire experience prompted the director to not want to join when it came time to direct Iron Man 3.
Royally Betrayed Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury
Samuel L. Jackson played the iconic role of Nick Fury in this film, which he is embodying to this day. What many might not know, is that the actor almost did not reprise this role for future projects because of how much he was appearing in this movie. Jackson was told by Jon Favreau that his character would be appearing quite a lot throughout its runtime. However, he only ended up appearing for a couple of scenes. This, along with problems with contract negotiation, led the actor to almost reconsider his decision to be a part of this franchise.
Mickey Rourke Almost Wasn’t Strong Enough to Fight Robert Downey Jr
Mickey Rourke played the role of Whiplash, or Ivan Vanko, one of the villains of Iron Man 2. His character was required to wear a suit with whips attached to them. The first few times that he wore this prop, the actor found it very difficult to move, due to how heavy it was. This, of course, would have been an issue considering he was to fight Robert Downey Jr’s character while wearing the prop.
In order to get himself used to this weight, he started wearing heavy vests while training. This helped the actor get used to the weight of his suit while fighting, causing his motion to seem a lot smoother.
Mickey Rourke Visited One of the World’s Most Hellish Prisons to Prepare for His Role
Another extreme thing that Mickey Rourke took part in to get into character for Ivan Vanko, was to visit a prison. He believed that he had to do extensive research to understand ‘Russian Philosophy’. The actor, however, did not just take a trip to any prison, choosing to instead go to Russia and visit Butyrka Prison. Although many might think that this was a risky and poor decision, he revealed that the people there were very gracious and he enjoyed doing this research.
The Skintight Black Widow Catsuit Got on Scarlett Johansson’s Nerves
Scarlett Johansson has been very vocal about her dislike of what Natasha Romanoff would wear in the MCU. It would seem, however, that this started very early on. More specifically, her first appearance in the franchise was in Iron Man 2. When she first saw that she was to wear a skintight catsuit, she got very concerned about how she would move around in something so tight. Had she not been able to get used to this suit, things could have turned disastrous very quickly.
