Iron Man (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.

Iron Man
Iron Man teaser poster
Directed by	Jon Favreau
Produced by	Avi Arad Kevin Feige
Written by	Comic Book: Stan Lee Jack Kirby Screenplay: Arthur Marcum Matthew Hollaway Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby
Starring	Robert Downey Jr. Terrence Howard
Cinematography	Matthew Libatique
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	May 2, 2008
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Iron Man. The film is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. The film is slated for a May 2, 2008 release.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Character design 3.1 Iron Man 3.2 The Mandarin 4 Production 4.1 Project history 4.2 Pre-production 4.3 Casting 4.4 Myspace Group 4.5 Merchandise 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

Tony Stark develops the three stages of the Iron Man armor, starting with "clunky, low-tech... diving bell armor" that he is forced to build in Afghanistan.^[1] Stark eventually updates the armor to a flying suit with the red and gold scheme and finally attains a "weapons platform" stage with the armor.^[2] Stark faces the villain The Mandarin.^[3]

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Robert Downey Jr.	Tony Stark / Iron Man
Terrence Howard	Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes
TBA	The Mandarin

[edit] Character design

[edit] Iron Man

Director Jon Favreau said that the film's plot would not deal with Tony Stark's personal problems, such as alcoholism. Favreau noted that if there were sequels, Tony Stark's personal problems would be explored.^{[citation needed]}

The Iron Man teaser poster was released at Comic-Con 2006, though Favreau said that the armor in the poster was not Iron Man's final design.^[4] The teaser poster was designed by Iron Man comic book artist Adi Granov, who is working on the suit design for the film.^[5] Armor designs by graphic artist Brandon Perlow were considered by Iron Man's visual effects supervisor John Nelson but were later rejected.^[6]

In a November 2006 interview, Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. said that he would be involved with motion capture work eight months after the completion of filming in order to realistically portray the suited Iron Man's movements.^[7]

[edit] The Mandarin

After announcing the film's main villain the Mandarin at Comic-Con International on July 22, 2006, Favreau explained in an interview that the main villain the Mandarin would be altered for the big screen, as the comics' Mandarin did not fit what Favreau wanted to represent. Instead, the Mandarin would be more realistic while keeping the formidable persona that has been displayed in the comics.^[8]

[edit] Production

[edit] Project history

On December 13, 2004, Marvel Studios and New Line Cinema announced that Nick Cassavetes, who had directed The Notebook and John Q, would be helming the project. The film was slated for a 2006 release.^[9] After two years of unsuccessful development, and the deal with director Cassavetes falling through, New Line Cinema returned the film rights to Marvel. There had been screenplay drafts written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and David Hayter, but these were not retained. After the project fell through, Marvel worked to start the development from scratch.^[10]

[edit] Pre-production

On April 28, 2006, Avi Arad, chairman of Marvel Studios, announced that Jon Favreau would be directing Iron Man. The film is currently in pre-production and will be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Favreau begins filming Iron Man in February 2007.^[11] The studio is aiming for a May 2, 2008 release.

[edit] Casting

Originally, director Jon Favreau had stated his intent to cast a newcomer in the role of Anthony Stark, the man who designs the body armor and wears it to become Iron Man.^{[citation needed]} On September 28, 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was rumored to have been cast as Iron Man.^[12] Favreau confirmed this news later in the day on his MySpace page.^[13]

In addition to Tony Stark, Favreau mentioned the presence of supporting characters that included James Rhodes, Pepper Potts and Obadiah Stane.^[14] On October 10, 2006, Terrence Howard was confirmed to play Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, a military pilot who assists his best friend, Tony Stark.^[15]

On October 15, 2006, Favreau posted a blog entry on the Iron Man Myspace page asking for fan input on who should play secretary Pepper Potts in the film.^[16]

[edit] Myspace Group

Favreau has created a Myspace group for the purpose of keeping Iron Man fans informed. The director said on his blog, "The internet is full of faulty info. I wanted to have at least one place where the facts would be correct."^[17]

[edit] Merchandise

In November 2006, Sega Corporation secured the exclusive rights to distribute and develop products based on Marvel's Iron Man property. In the partnership, Sega will develop and distribute multi-platform video game titles based on the comic book and film iterations of the superhero.^[18]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Iron Man movie hub at Marvel.com
• Interview with Jon Favreau on Iron Man
• Iron Man Movie Group on Myspace
• Iron Man hype at the SuperHeroHype!
• Iron Man at the Internet Movie Database

Marvel Comics films
Single films	Captain America (1991) | Ghost Rider (2007) | Howard the Duck (1986)
Franchises	Blade: Blade (1998) | Blade II (2002) | Blade: Trinity (2004) Daredevil: Daredevil (2003) | Elektra (2005) Fantastic Four: The Fantastic Four (1994) | Fantastic Four (2005) | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) The Hulk: Hulk (2003) The Punisher: The Punisher (1989) | The Punisher (2004) Spider-Man: Spider-Man (2002) | Spider-Man 2 (2004) | Spider-Man 3 (2007) X-Men: X-Men (2000) | X2 (2003) | X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
In development	Iron Man (2008) | The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Ant-Man (2008) | Wolverine | Luke Cage | Deathlok | Gargoyle | Magneto | Namor | The Punisher 2