Robert Downey Jr’s career skyrocketed after the release of the first Iron Man in 2008. The role would eventually make him a global superstar and become the most recognizable role of his career. Downey Jr. starred in three Iron Man films and the third one which was released in 2013 would become the most successful, grossing over $1.2 billion at the box office.
The film reunited him with his Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) director Shane Black. During the initial script phase of the film, Black was confronted with the news that he was working with another writer on board. This was not the preconceived notion with which Black agreed to direct the role and thus created some tensions with the heads at Marvel.
Shane Black Thought he was the Sole Writer of the Film
Shane Black is an accomplished screenwriter who has written successful films such as Lethal Weapon (1987), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005 (also starring Robert Downey Jr.) among others. Hence, he expected that Marvel had hired him as the sole writer for Iron Man 3. He found out that he had to share screenwriting duties with another writer Drew Pearce. He talked about his initial frustration in an interview (via Slashfilm) saying,
“I was the older guy, ha ha … So we shook hands, and said ‘Drew, it was so nice to meet you.’ I then turned to Kevin [Feige] and said, ‘I don’t think so.’ He said, ‘You’re going to have to write a draft with him, because we hired him.’ ‘So unhire him! I have partners I work with, I’ll pay them myself.’ Finally, I had some meetings, and in five days hanging [at] my house or at Marvel, bulls******* across my couch. Instantly, I said ‘What would you do here?’ I completely acquiesced to his commitment to, and passion for, this project. He knew all things comic book and had a literary sense of good writing.”
It seems Black grew fond of Pearce’s commitment and talent and ultimately got along during the writing process of the Downey Jr-led film. Their team effort paid off as the film became a huge success for Marvel at the time.
The MCU Mostly Brings a Team of Writers for Their Films
The MCU led by Kevin Feige has always welcomed the process of collaboration and the mantra that ‘the best idea wins’. They plan an overall arc of the movies and bring in writers to find creative and inventive ways to weave storylines and characters, slowly leading them into a unidirectional conclusion which is what happened with the Infinity Saga. This formula has worked for the studio and The Infinity Saga proved to be a great epic narrative that earned its conclusion.
They also employ talented and clever writers who know the comics and the lore of the Marvel world so that they understand the task at hand while also leaving room to improvise and deviate from the comics to fit the cinematic format.
Also read: “This can’t be real”: Fans in Shock, $880M Marvel Movie Paid Robert Downey Jr $1.25M Per Minute
The MCU Now Seems to have Abandoned the Winning Formula
The current state of the MCU is in such a scattered mess with no overarching main narrative and random stories with characters old and new, that do not seem to go anywhere. Since the end of Robert Downey Jr. and Chis Evans’ tenure in the MCU, there does not seem to be a unifying narrative like The Infinity Saga and this has led to many MCU projects being disappointing as of late. One can only hope that Kevin Feige and his team of writers realize their mistakes and start working on building narratives that matter and have a unifying vision.
Source: Slashfilm
