In a recent interview to promote his new movie, Sherlock Holmes, actor Robert Downey, Jr. also opened up a bit about Iron Man 2. He echoed previous statements he made about injecting his own ideas into the creative process and said that the success of Iron Man had a lot to do with keeping it as based in reality as possible. And, while the character of Tony Stark will evolve in Iron Man 2 now that the origin has been established, Downey, Jr. said that it was important to maintain that basis in reality so as not to risk alienating the audience.
Downey, Jr. elaborated further:
"I think what worked for Iron Man is that it almost seemed like something from the cover of Popular Mechanics. These kinds of suits were starting to be made in the States and Japan, so people were responding to Iron Man almost as though it was a more of a high-tech James Bond. So how could we start to introduce elements of the storylines in the comics without becoming too outlandish, where it wasn't rooted in some kind of reality? That's my big thing, and the only thing that's really been of any benefit with my - quote, unquote - successes recently, is that they have allowed people to trust my instincts more comfortably, and to give me a little more creative leverage. And that's all that matters, because all the other stuff comes and goes.
"I'm really, really, really hell-bent on protecting what's beautiful about my relationship with Marvel and my relationship with Jon Favreau first and foremost, then, secondarily, Iron Man at large. And the tertiary element is always the audience: what would I pay to see if these schmucks had me roped in to come see the movie again? Because I kinda know I'm going to go anyway, and I hope that I'm not sorry I went."
Iron Man 2 opens May 7th (April 30th in the UK and AU)!