Thanks to the work of Feige, director Jon Favreau, and others, the team found the perfect choice, “an actor who checked all of those boxes and who we were confident would be a huge hit.” That actor? English star Clive Owen.
Before Robert Downey Jr. became Tony Stark in 2008's Iron Man, the film that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the part was turned down by Clive Owen.
And, contrary to popular belief neither the Oppenheimer actor nor Tom Cruise were the first choice actors for the role of Tony Stark in the MCU.
Jon Favreau, best known at that time as the director of “Elf,” was brought in to direct an “Iron Man” movie. According to Maisel, he was the key figure in getting Marvel's board to sign off on casting Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role.
Other actors considered the lead were Hugh Jackman, Clive Owen, Timothy Olyphant, and Nicolas Cage! 2. While Jon Favreau would go on the create a great template for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was far from the studio's first choice.
He was called in for an audition for the film when they saw a “spark in him” for the Iron Man role. “Once it was him, that's when my life got a lot easier because he understood the voice of the character. And then one by one, people were just signing on board because now it became something interesting.”
When Iron Man was in early development in the 1990s, many at Marvel wanted Tom Cruise to play the role, and it was not the most out-of-left-field casting idea for the character who would become the heart of the Avengers. But believe it or not, Nicolas Cage was also once part of the Tony Stark conversation.
Tom Cruise revealed that he didn't feel like it was going to work out if he chose to play Iron Man, adding that he tries his best to make his project special but the film was not what he wanted. “It's not happening. Not with me, no … They came to me at a certain point and, when I do something, I wanna do it right.
The actor, 60, revealed in a new interview with podcast Phase Zero that while rumors have been circulating over the years about him potentially playing the iconic Marvel hero, he wasn't anywhere close to actually snagging the role. "Not close," he confirmed.
Hawkeye. On numerous occasions in the comics, Clint Barton has said he's just a regular guy with a bow and arrow. Unfortunately, his lack of power usually leads to him suffering injuries regularly and has led to fans deeming him the weakest member of the Avengers.
Tom Hiddleston was one of the many young men who auditioned to play Thor, but Marvel felt he was a better fit for Loki. Those who also tested included Charlie Hunnam, Alexander Skarsgard, Joel Kinnaman, Kevin McKidd, and even WWE star Triple-H.
"Iron Man 4": Tom Cruise stuns as Tony Stark in jaw-dropping trailer.
Rumors have swirled for years that Cruise might be entering the MCU as none other than Iron Man. They first started way back in 2008, when Cruise was considered for the role before Marvel eventually cast Robert Downey Jr.
Though Cruise didn't end up joining the highly-successful Iron Man series, he hasn't ruled out the chance of ending up in a superhero film before his storied acting career ends. "I look at a movie and think, you know, I don't rule anything out. It's "What's the story? What's the character?" he said.
Avengers: Endgame writers Cristopher Markus & Stephen McFeely on why Iron Man was killed off? Because it legitimizes the whole thing. If you just keep going until it peters out or you lose interest, it kind of decays backwards, making (people) think less of everything that came before.
Why Did Terrence Howard Leave Marvel's Iron Man? Downey's salary was increased dramatically for Iron Man 2, to a rumored $10 million, plus a cut of back-end profits. That, in turn, led Marvel Studios to drastically slash Howard's pay to what the actor said was just $40,000 per film.
Hollywood insiders believe the exit stems from Terrence Howard's difficult behavior on the set of Iron Man. But those with intimate knowledge of the situation suggest a far more dramatic backstory: Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid.
Inverted Tony Stark was a selfish, boozing, greedy version known as the Superior Iron Man. He created a dangerous new symbiote-infused armor and monetized the Extremis virus to increase his wealth while tormenting the public. Superior Iron Man had no limits or morals, which made him a very dangerous enemy.
Edward Norton Almost Replaced Mark Ruffalo As The Hulk In The Marvel Cinematic Universe After Avengers: Endgame. After Avengers: End Game, there was a possibility that Edward Norton could have replaced Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The answer is Harley Keener, played by Ty Simpkins. Harley is the kid from Iron Man 3, the one who helped Tony when Iron Man crash-landed in Tennessee.
In the interview, Favreau and Feige agreed that Downey was the right choice and that the MCU would be changed entirely without him. "He was the puzzle piece that made it all work," Favreau shared. "I remember sitting down with the guy, and I was like, 'He's got that spark in him in his eye and he's ready.
Downey, he said, 'had a very [high] standard that he wanted to hit with, not wanting this to feel basic. He wanted it to be special. ' Favreau, who fought tooth and nail to get Downey hired for the role, said that his life 'got easier' after the actor was finalised.
Downey was cast as the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man in the 2008 Marvel Studios film Iron Man, a role he later reprised in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: ...
IRONMAN 4 - FULL TRAILER | Robert Downey Jr. Returns as Tony Stark!