News culture “One of the best decisions in Hollywood history”: The MCU boss is proud to have taken this direction with Robert Downey Jr.
During an interview, the father of the MCU returned to the genesis of the project. And according to him, the Marvel films would never have taken such a direction without the interpreter of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.
Iron Man turns 15
In 2008, 15 years ago, came out Iron Man. In addition to the fact that it received a very good critical reception, the film directed by Jon Favreau has, in a way, marked the history of an entire genre. At the time, superhero films were indeed not as developed as they are today. Worse still, Marvel gave them very little importance. The Iron Man of 2008 was besides the first film financed by the box. Note also that the idea of making an adaptation ofIron Man on screen dated back to the 90s and that Quentin Tarantino should have worked on the project. Between creative differences and budget problems, the project was finally abandoned, as was the adaptation proposal from New Line Cinema.
Suffice to say that the film Iron Man comes from afar and that Marvel could very well have dropped in turn. But luckily the box didn’t. Iron Man was a great success and paved the way for the MCU, a particularly lucrative franchise that allowed Marvel to develop a gigantic aura. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the film, the boss of Marvel Kevin Feige and the director Jon Favreau shared their feelings on Iron Man and its impact. And according to the first, nothing would have been possible without Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr., the man without whom the MCU would not exist?
It’s actually no secret: Robert Downey Jr. has done a lot for the MCU. But Kevin Feige still wanted to remind him during this famous interview. And the least we can say is that he is dithyrambic, going so far as to qualify the casting of the actor as “one of the greatest decisions in Hollywood history”. Besides the fact that the Iron Man suit suited him so well, his presence above all unlocked a number of things. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Paul Bettany all agreed to join in once Robert signed on. Everyone gathered around the actor, whether for Iron Man but also movies Avengers. “{With Robert,} every decision became much easier” thus supports Jon Favreau.
More so, Marvel “wouldn’t have had a studio if he hadn’t been there” according to Kevin Feige. A fact that he had fun reminding her of when things got more complicated: “I remember in later films – we’ll talk about them on the 15th anniversary of those – there were tougher times. So I said to Robert: “Without you, we wouldn’t be here.” We wonder what movies the dad of the MCU is talking about. What is certain is that the franchise owes a lot to Robert Downey Jr. and may have a hard time finding a hero capable of taking the place of his Iron Man.
