The Iron Man franchise is one of Marvel Studios’ most successful and wildly popular movies. Fan favorite protagonist Tony Stark aka Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr has marked his won place in the MCU. Adapted from Demon in a Bottle, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 is an important addition to the franchise developing the primary characters further into the MCU universe.
Iron Man 2 follows tech billionaire Tony Stark after escaping from his captivity in Afghanistan with the help of the smart suit of armor he created. However, the government has keen eyes on his technology. Stark struggles to keep his technology from getting into their hands while attempting to combat personal enemies. While liked by many, Stark’s adventure had haters as well which include Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs Hated Iron Man 2
After the theatrical release, Steve Jobs took his son Reed to watch Iron Man 2 and his experience was far from good, rather he just hated it. The news came out following the Release of the book The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger. An excerpt from the book went viral where Iger revealed that Jobs called Iger personally to complain about the second installment of the series.
“When ‘Iron Man 2’ came out, Steve [Jobs] took his son to see it and called me the next day. ‘I took Reed to see ‘Iron Man 2′ last night,’ he said. ‘It sucked,’” Iger writes in the novel (via Screen Rant).
“‘I took Reed to see Iron Man 2 last night,’ he said. ‘It sucked,'” Iger stated Jobs’ opinion on the movie. However, Iger reflects that obviously, Iron Man 2 was far from the Oscar, still he “couldn’t let him feel he was right all the time.” So, Iger defended the film as a commercial success while respecting Jobs’ opinion at the same time.
Also read: Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man Co-Star Hasn’t Seen $585 Million Movie, Called it ‘Easiest Job Ever’
Steve Jobs Had a Piece of the Pie in Disney
The former Apple CEO held a seat on the board of directors. Being a member of the board and one of their largest shareholder, Jobs had a say in important business decisions. So, Iger would often consult Jobs and take his opinion into account.
Following Disney’s acquisition of the Pixar animation studio, the company also had a keen interest in acquiring Marvel studios. Before Disney’s acquisition of Marvel Studios in 2009, Iger visited Jobs for his decision on the matter.
After the release of his book, Iger talked to Vanity Fair about Jobs’ involvement in the Marvel deal.
“In 2009, after our very successful acquisition of Pixar, we were interested in acquiring Marvel, so I met with Steve and walked him through the business. He claimed to have never read a comic book in his life (‘I hate them more than I hate video games,’ he told me), so I brought an encyclopedia of Marvel characters with me to explain the universe to him and show him what we would be buying. He spent about 10 seconds looking at it, then pushed it aside and said, ‘Is this one important to you? Do you really want it? Is it another Pixar?'”
Interestingly, Iron Man 2 was the first Disney-owned Marvel movie. Jobs’ faith in Marvel was further diminished after watching the movie. However, the movie went on to be a commercial success grossing over $624 million.
Marvel’s Success Was Elevated Further After the Merger
Following the Disney-Marvel merger, the movies and shows from the studio reached a new height. Since then, the studio has produced almost every project to be successful making room for smashing the box office records.
Sadly, Steve Jobs is not here to see the feat of the studio and the projects it has produced including Iron Man 2. The pioneer of the personal computer revolution passed away on 5 October 2011.
The former Apple co-founder’s life was depicted in two movies- one starring Ashton Kutcher in the 2013 biopic Jobs. Later in the 2015 movie Steve Jobs, Michael Fassbender played Jobs’ life.
Marvel Cinematic Universe has reached Phase-5 and there are a few projects yet to release this year. James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to release on May 5, 2023. Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Kraven the Hunter are set to hit theatres on June 2, 2023, and October 6, 2023, respectively. Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels will be released on November 10, 2023. Several shows from the studio are also lined up for TV releases that include, Secret Invasion, Loki season 2, Echo, X-Men ’97.
Source: IndieWire.
