Iron Man 3 starring Robert Downey Jr. in the titular superhero role was an immense success for Marvel Studios. It even made its way to the Academy Awards by getting a nomination for Best Visual Effects. However, many might be surprised to know that the franchise chose to boot a female antagonist from the movie way before putting Brie Larson in the front with her own standalone movie.
It follows after the events of The Avengers. In the movie, Tony Stark faces off against a mysterious terrorist known as the Mandarin, which leads to a series of devastating events. The movie greatly explores Stark’s persona and the consequences of his past actions. While the Mandarin was surely a great threat, movie director, Shane Black exposed Marvel’s sexism sharing how the studio allegedly scrapped the inclusion of a female villain in the movie.
Marvel Studios Scrapped a Female Villain for Iron Man 3
In Joanna Robinson and Gavin Edwards’s book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man 3 filmmaker, Shane Black revealed his brainstorming process for villains in the movie. He revealed that he initially planned for Rebecca Hall’s character, Maya Hensen to become the antagonist. However, this idea didn’t sit well with Marvel Studios as they thought that the villain’s action figures would not sell much since it’s a female character.
The film director quoted (via SlashFilm)
“We had a female character who was the villain. […] We had finished the script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying ‘That cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because after consulting, we’ve decided that the toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female.’ […] So we had to change the entire script because of toymaking. Now, that’s not Feige. That’s Marvel corporate.”
Eventually, the movie received a gender swap as Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian, the real mastermind in the Iron Man 3 eventually became the antagonist. While the franchise earlier chose to boot a female character in the front due to toy sales, they eventually turned the gears completely with Captain Marvel!
Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel Led Her Solo MCU Movie!
While the studios had not accepted a female pulling the strings as a mastermind, they surely had their share of intriguing female characters. When it comes to naming one..we surely can’t forget Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. However, a woman was yet to lead her solo superhero movie at the time. That was when Brie Larson’s character, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel made her entrance.
The release of Captain Marvel significantly pushed the franchise toward diversity in superhero movies. It also introduced other powerful female characters that the franchise further explored like Maria Rambeau’s daughter, Monica Rambeau, who shared the screen with Larson in the movie sequel, The Marvels.
Iron Man 3, and Captain Marvel are available on Disney+.
