Lethal Weapon's Shane Black is responsible for some of most memorable action movies of the 80s and 90s, and he found great success in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he directed Iron Man 3 (the only solo Marvel movie to gross over $1 billion worldwide). However, long before he helmed that or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Black had a role in creating the world of Iron Man. Kevin Feige has revealed that Downey Jr. would often visit Black to run some of the scenes in Iron Man past him, and much of what Tony Stark talked about at the press conference when he returns from Afghanistan was inspired by those conversations. That's far from where the filmmaker's involvement ended. He took an active role in the construction of the first film and even offered up some early ideas for the sequel which helped to make Tony more relatable and human. When Favreau decided not to return for the third instalment of the Iron Man franchise, Feige didn't hesitate to turn to Shane Black. Surprisingly though, he wasn't initially at the top if their short list. After meeting with him however, Marvel apparently realised that he was the only man who was perfect for the job.
