10 Shocking MCU Movie Plans That Almost Happened

3. Maya Hansen Was Iron Man 3's Surprise Villain

Iron Man 3 Rebecca Hall
Marvel Studios

The original plan for Iron Man 3 was to have Extremist scientist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) be revealed as the ultimate villain, in a twist that would subvert the apparent truth that Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) was the main antagonist.

However, due to Marvel Studios execs fretting that a female villain would harm toy sales, they ultimately vetoed the decision, and Rebecca Hall apparently wasn't made fully aware of the change until shortly before she filmed her death scene.

This is one of the few entries on this list that's actually pretty disappointing, especially because of the cynical reasons involved. The whole Mandarin switcharoo is already one of the MCU's most divisive plot points, so shifting the focus away from it and giving the series a palpable femme fatale antagonist would've been far more interesting.

Instead, Hansen is murdered by Killian without much fanfare or interest at all. What a waste of a terrific actress.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.