How The MCU Got So BIG

As luck would have it, Marvel received some good news a few months after the Merrill Lynch deal: New Line Cinema’s Iron Man rights had expired. In fact, many a film company missed out on bringing Iron Man to the silver screen.

Since the 1970s, the Iron Man rights have been optioned to other companies. The 1990s saw the playboy billionaire passed between Universal, 20th Century Fox, and finally New Line Cinema.

Even when Marvel announced it would be their first independent feature, thirty writers passed on the opportunity. So why use this seemingly unwanted character to kick-off a cinematic universe?

Well, firstly, the successes of Fantastic Four and X-Men demonstrated cinema audiences were open to new characters.

With the superhero trend leaning towards serious, black-clad brooders, Tony Stark stood out with his golden-red suit and cheeky, bad boy attitude; he would set the tone for Marvel’s vibrant adventures. While Iron Man wasn’t the most well-known character, he would appeal to comic fans, who would be Marvel’s gateway into the mainstream market.

The production of Iron Man brought along many risks of its own. Jon Favreau wasn’t known for making superhero movies and caused a stir with Marvel executives with his casting choice of Robert Downey Jr. Many studios considered the actor untouchable due to his personal struggles.

Yet, Favreau remained adamant that Downey Jr was a perfect choice. Marvel gave Favreau a lot of free rein in his directional approach, and Jeff Bridges later described the film as a “$200 million student film.”

All these elements seem like a cocktail for disaster, but by Odin’s left eye did Iron Man beautifully pay off, making a $100m profit in the box office. Marvel Studios had done it!