Iron Man 3 Director: Tony Stark is Being Phased Out

In an interview with i09 discussing his upcoming film Iron Man 3, filmmaker Shane Black explained [...]

Iron Man 3 after the credits

In an interview with i09 discussing his upcoming film Iron Man 3, filmmaker Shane Black explained that one of the most important things to do in the movie was to give Tony Stark a threat that wasn't just another jerk with a grudge against him, no matter how powerful that jerk might be. Rather, the villains he comes to face in this film are more a result of the circumstances in which Tony lives; he's an Avenger now, and he's known as a hero that people will look to when bad things happen. It helps, arguably, to establish him as more heroic in that he's no longer bringing the threats with him. Black made that point--something that, if it isn't specifically aimed at setting up Iron Patriot to carry more weight in the franchise, at least has that ancillary effect--and along the way, he said in no uncertain terms that, at least inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that's the perception of the characters already.

The idea was that he's sort of dealing with himself in this one. That he's sort of blind-sided — not by villains that are necessarily known to him, but by the chaotic growth he lives in. He's forced to become Iron Man, sort of. He's being phased out, in fact, by Iron Patriot, [who's] dealing with these sort of geo-political crises around the world.

And we wanted to set up that right from the starting point — that it's not just Tony Stark's villains come to haunt him, as there are villains in the world and Tony Stark has to step up and eventually overcome them. But, only after they touch his life, because they exist apart from him.

We didn't want to do just another small story about a villain with a grudge for Tony Stark. But it is interesting that we touched base, and say 'You know, these political villains that are around the world that Tony's just now noticing, he's the creator.' If you look back far enough — and you have to kind of squint — you see that Tony's the one [who caused these problems in the first place]. If he'd just been a little smarter or a little less drunk, he wouldn't have created such a problem.

Of course, this tracks with Rhodey Rhodes actor Don Cheadle suggesting that there may be some work for him with S.H.I.E.L.D. in things like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers 2. But it's hard not to read it as a bit of an insurance policy against Robert Downey, Jr. potentially not returning now that his contract is up. Iron Man is, after all, the heart of the franchise at this point for Marvel and it will be difficult to replace Downey without losing some of that spirit. Bringing Iron Patriot in to help out Cap and The Avengers, though, could allow for Downey to have some downtime, giving the studio a chance to figure out how to proceed, whether he comes back or not.

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