Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Iron Man 2rocketed into theaters 12 years ago with the concussive impact of a repulsor blast.
That target is pretty small.
It changes by the hour.
Theyre making wholesale changes to the story when the cameras are rolling.
At night, [Theroux] is doing writing gyrations trying to make it all make sense.
Iron Man 2stands as arguably the most unmoored and overall chaotic production in Marvel Studios reliably rainmaking 28-film history.
Fast-trackingIron Man 2meant bumping plannedThorandCaptain Americamovies down the release corridor and forgoing any theatrical output in 2009 altogether.
Nonetheless,IM2took risks.
Susan Downey pushed back against the plot line too out of concern for her husbands health.
Casting the movie presented an additional set of complexities.
Then, as now, Howard had a reputation for irascibility.
What happened next is not publicly known.
Either the actors management team pulled him off the film or Howard was fired.
(A representative for Howard did not respond to Vultures interview requests.)
Whats Iron Man?!
Ill do it, this source recalls Rourke saying.
But I have to have my hair in a samurai bun.
I have to speak in a Russian accent.
And I have to have a bird on my shoulder.
(All three demands were met.)
Perlmutter refused to meet Rourkes salary demands, however, offering the beefy91/2 Weeksactora mere $250,000for the role.
It was a major sum to get Mickey close, and Mickey took the deal, the person says.
(Elon Musks cameo, however, made it in.)
Way back in the start-up days, though, Feige was hardly indispensable.
Favreau, Feige, and Downey, they were equal partners.
They could not succeed without Downey.
He was the valuable one.
It tilted things in his direction.
But it was very hard to keep him managed in this environment, says our on-set insider.
The stress manifested with him in his body.
Some people get skin conditions.
Some get it in their stomach.
For him it was his back, says the person who observed the writer on set.
(A spokeswoman for Theroux said he was on location and unavailable for an interview.
She also said, He did not have back pain from production or rushing.)
The movies hidden price tag, though, was its impact on the creative teams interpersonal relationships.
Everybody left that movie feeling uncertain about their relationships with one another, says the insider.
Downey and Favreau werent sure how they were doing with each other.
(Favreau also directed Disneys live-actionThe Lion Kingand co-created the Disney+ seriesThe Mandalorian.)
Feige remains Hollywoods most successful studio executive.
Which also means you get all that other stuff, Downey said.
You get all that, like, I kind of resent you because you werent really hearing me.
Its been really gratifying.
