IRON MAN 3 Director Shane Black Reflects On The Movie's Christmas Setting...And Admits It Wasn't His Idea!

Is Iron Man 3 a Christmas movie? That's a question often asked by fans, but director Shane Black has now elaborated on the thinking behind that setting and why it wasn't as fun as in his previous movies.

By JoshWilding - Dec 22, 2022 05:12 AM EST

Filed Under: Iron Man 3

After Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it had become clear that filmmaker Shane Black enjoyed setting his movies around the festive period.

The expectation was that a "Shane Black movie" would be a "Christmas movie," hence why we all expected Iron Man 3 to take place during Christmas when he was announced as director. Talking to Empire Online, the filmmaker reveals that he didn't initially intend for the threequel to be a holiday-set adventure for the Armoured Avenger.

In fact, he only relented after co-writer Drew Pearce pushed for Iron Man 3 to take place at Christmas!

"I didn’t want Christmas to feel like a gimmick, or something that was predictable, or ostentatious on my part," Black says. "It started out as fun, and as soon as people noticed it, it stopped being fun. But I acquiesced largely because of the Christmas Carol aspect of it. Tony loses his support, loses his base, he’s adrift in Mid-America."

"And he’s not going to be visited by ghosts, but he’s certainly going to be in the middle of a reckoning, or a reconciliation, where he has to take stock, figure out what’s troubling him, and how he’s going to continue. It worked out well for the ending."

"The coda is basically him at Christmas, giving a gift to his fiancee, and giving a gift to a little kid who helped him. And there’s a Christmas miracle when Jon Favreau’s character comes out of a coma," the director continues. "There’s something about it, where you can get dark and dark and dark, as harsh as you want, and then summon up a little Christmas, and it gives you that pleasant out that you’re looking for."

While Iron Man 3 being a Christmas movie didn't really change much (it could have ditched the decorations and still been just as much fun), it's interesting to hear these parallels from Black.

We'd argue that Marvel Studios' first full-blown Christmastime story was last year's Hawkeye on Disney+, though they really embraced the holidays with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special last month. As for Iron Man 3, it remains somewhat divisive, but is widely considered one of the Infinity Saga's best movies by many.

Iron Man 3 is now streaming on Disney+!

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41 Comments

1 2

bobevanz - 12/22/2022, 6:22 AM

Set during Christmas, but without the theme of Christmas doesn't make it a Christmas movie. So basically all of his movies just happen to take place during Christmas lol

Matador - 12/22/2022, 8:55 AM

@bobevanz -

PartyKiller - 12/22/2022, 6:23 AM

It was better than Iron Man 2 but still not very good.

dragon316 - 12/22/2022, 7:01 AM

@PartyKiller - except for fake manderian breath fire that was bad thin I don’t like on iron man three

AmySabadini - 12/22/2022, 7:36 AM

@PartyKiller - I feel ScarJo and the great Sam Rockwell make ‘Iron-Man 2’ more rewatchable despite it’s flaws.

TheBlueMorpho - 12/22/2022, 7:40 AM

@PartyKiller -

Iron Man 2 was pretty solid for about the first 40-45 mins then it started to go downhill.

JDL - 12/22/2022, 9:56 AM

@AmySabadini - Well ScarJo is disowning that version of BW these days and as for Rockwell I found his take on the charcacter ranged from meh to repugnant. His dance like moves just before he gave a speech were god awful. Now if he'd gone full draq queen he would have at least been a more beleivable character.

Add that to Mickey Rourkes costume fail and you have a very meh movie at best. As always YMMV.

Doomsday8888 - 12/22/2022, 7:24 AM

I no longer hate this movie like i used to...heh.

TheBlueMorpho - 12/22/2022, 7:39 AM

@Doomsday8888 -

What has your hate turned into for this movie?

Doomsday8888 - 12/22/2022, 8:17 AM

@TheBlueMorpho
Kinda don't care anymore.
Kinda had a better Mandarin thanks to Shang-Chi.

And i kinda miss Tony.

TheHumanSpider2 - 12/22/2022, 7:31 AM

A Christmas movie...released in may.

Btw, most underrated movie in the MCU?

AmySabadini - 12/22/2022, 7:39 AM

@TheHumanSpider2 - Not to me. It’s an Iron-Man movie with very little Iron-Man in it. As I mentioned above, I feel ScarJo and the great Sam Rockwell make ‘Iron-Man 2’ more rewatchable than ‘3’, despite its flaws.

TheHumanSpider2 - 12/22/2022, 7:43 AM

@AmySabadini - I think the problem when it came out was that people were expecting something else, but when you see the movie for what it is, is actually a pretty clever movie.

SuperiorHeckler - 12/22/2022, 8:01 AM

@TheHumanSpider2 - By the time of Tony and Rhodey's assault on the mansion, it literally becomes Lethal Weapon meets MARVEL. Sorry but, I'm not gonna' bestow the title of "clever" onto that. 🫤

EskimoJ - 12/22/2022, 10:17 AM

@TheHumanSpider2 - On niche sites like this one? Definitely the most underrated.

TheHumanSpider2 - 12/22/2022, 10:23 AM

@SuperiorHeckler - Well...that is why you get Shane Black for :/

ForceofWakanda - 12/22/2022, 11:35 AM

@AmySabadini -

Very little Iron Man in it?

That's basically missing the point of the movie

DCfan84 - 12/22/2022, 7:43 AM

This Movie is Very Underrated

SuperiorHeckler - 12/22/2022, 7:57 AM

Black's Christmas-fetish is kinda' obvious at this point... 🎅🏻

slickrickdesigns - 12/22/2022, 8:11 AM

Am I the only one who thought the giant stuffed animal had big ol titties???

bkmeijer1 - 12/22/2022, 9:26 AM

@slickrickdesigns - you're telling me that is not the case?

slickrickdesigns - 12/22/2022, 9:30 AM

@bkmeijer1 - took a couple watching a for me to figure out those were arms.

bkmeijer1 - 12/22/2022, 9:35 AM

@slickrickdesigns - yeah, now that I see it as a still image I see it as well. Guess there are paws on it

SauronthePower - 12/22/2022, 8:17 AM

Single worst MCU cinematic offering to date

IMCOOLURNOT - 12/22/2022, 8:52 AM

I still think 3 was better than 2.

bkmeijer1 - 12/22/2022, 9:25 AM

Didn't even think about it that way. Guess there's more Christmas in this than I thought, since I only really thought of it like a setting (like with Die Hard or Home Alone).

manofillintent1 - 12/22/2022, 9:48 AM

Definitely not as bad as you remember, discovered that upon rewatch before end game, definitely raised a notch or too in my ranking

manofillintent1 - 12/22/2022, 9:49 AM

@manofillintent1 - two

JayLemle - 12/22/2022, 10:42 AM

I think it's an enjoyable movie. I didn't really think about the Christmas aspect until now, actually lol.

ForceofWakanda - 12/22/2022, 11:36 AM

People still hating on Iron Man 3 in the year our lord 2022.

Thought we left that in the mid 2010s

JonC - 12/22/2022, 11:48 AM

So we can watch Iron Man 3, the Hawkeye series and Guardian's Christmas Special this time of year every year?!

1 2

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IRON MAN 3 Director Shane Black Reflects On The Movie's Christmas Setting...And Admits It Wasn't His Idea!

Is Iron Man 3 a Christmas movie? That's a question often asked by fans, but director Shane Black has now elaborated on the thinking behind that setting and why it wasn't as fun as in his previous movies.

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