Kate Mara Only Did Iron Man 2 For This ONE Reason

The actress' brief Iron Man 2 cameo was to have led to so much more.

by Andrew Pollard
Kata Mara Iron Man 2
Marvel Studios

Remember when Kate Mara appeared in Iron Man 2? Chances are, you don’t.

Recently wowing in A Teacher, Mara actually made a ludicrously brief appearance in Iron Man 2. The MCU has often had fan-pleasing cameos dotted across its 23-movie run, but the Mara appearance is still a bit of a head-scratcher.

Truth be told, Kate Mara was on screen for a handful of seconds in Iron Man 2. For an actress so talented and with such name value, it seems odd to use her in such a way – but now Kate has suggested that there were more meatier plans afoot for her MCU dabble.

Speaking to Collider, Mara explained:

“I had a meeting with [Iron Man 2 director] Jon Favreau for that and they said to me, ‘It’s a very, very small part, but it’s with Robert Downey and Jon, and it’ll be really fun. And a lot of times they bring these characters back into bigger, more substantial roles. It wasn’t a promise, but it was definitely something that was hinted to me. So that’s the reason why I even took the meeting.’”

While Kate Mara in the MCU has yet to happen, the actress did get to suit up in another Marvel Comics-based outing – playing Sue Storm in Josh Trank’s much-maligned Fantastic Four movie. Mara was fine as the Invisible Woman, but that movie…? The less said, the better.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.