10 Times Marvel Sabotaged The MCU
3. Iron Man 2 And The Bad Case Of The Sequel Set-Up
Iron Man 2 was a far cry from its predecessor's runaway success for a number of reasons; chief among them its unnecessary function to set up future instalments in the then-nascent MCU. Marvel rushed the sequel into production without a complete script. While this was the case with the first film, that movie was not burdened with sowing the seeds for a whole universe.
In addition to this, the picture was fraught with various issues such as contract disputes, the recasting of Terence Howard's James Rhodes, as well as creative differences between the studio and director Jon Favreau.
For starters, Marvel did not feel comfortable with adopting the seminal "Demon in a Bottle" storyline as it was too controversial to work within their plans. Furthermore, the production schedule hurt the film's narrative complexity, and this was most felt in its treatment of antagonist Ivan Vanko/Whiplash.
Due to this, the final feature feels unfocused on its main plotlines and instead resolves them in baffling and/or unsatisfying fashion. In addition to this, this soured the relationship between Favreau and the studio, leading to the director walking away from the then-in-development Iron Man 3 and potentially directing the Avengers.