Robert Downey Jr. Says IRON MAN Was an Experiment That the Studio Was Prepared to Write Off If It Had Tanked

The MCU is a huge, powerful, and lucrative machine these days, pumping out a few movies, as well as series now, every year, and actors are happy to get the gig to star in them as they tend to dominate in the box office. But that wasn’t always the case. There were movies that were released before the Marvel films we know today that didn’t do as well, or if they did, they didn’t tie to a greater universe. So no one could have known what the 2008 movie Iron Man was about to kick off, but the studios had their expectations set way low.

In a recent interview during an event to promote his new documentary film Sr., per Twitter user Chris Gardner (via CB), Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. described the process of making the movie, saying:

"Well, I mean, first of all, because not too many people were thinking that Iron Man was even going to have an opening weekend or do much of anything, so we were a little bit left alone. I find out more every day about how that thing was financed, it was basically ready to be written off if it tanked. And so anyway, it was the perfect thing where there were not a lot of creatively aggressive eyes on us. And by the time they gave it to us, it was like united artists, like the lunatics took over the asylum. And I remember Jeff Bridges, too, he was like, 'Man, we're doing a $200 million independent movie, man.' And there was just that sense that, of course, it was much more organized."

Of course, we all know now that Iron Man went on to earn $585.8 million worldwide and kicked off the cinematic universe the Marvel films live within now. A couple of months ago, another of the film’s stars, Jeff Bridges, told Vanity Fair:

"It drove me absolutely crazy until I made a slight adjustment in my brain. And that adjustment was, 'Jeff, just relax. You're making a $200-million student film. Just relax and have fun.' And that kind of did the trick because here I get to play with these two incredible artists and just jam, and that's what we ended up doing."  

He added, "For my money, that's the best Marvel movie ... I know I'm biased, of course. But man, I thought it was a wonderful experience."

It’s pretty funny to think that they made such an impactful film with such little oversight, but I bet that’s part of why it turned out so great. Director Jon Favreau and producer-turned-Marvel boss Kevin Feige had a vision, and it was executed in the perfect way to start this franchise.