Over the years, Marvel Studios has gained a reputation for rushing some of its projects into production, and we have heard numerous reports of filming getting underway before a script has been completed or is still being worked on.
Sometimes it all works out, others it can be a little more noticeable in the final product, but this "winging it" approach goes all the way back to the studio's first movie, Iron Man.
The film's script problems (and the biggest problem was that there was no finished script) have been well-documented over the years, and it's a wonder Iron Man turned out half as well as it did. Star Jeff Bridges - who played the villainous Obadiah Stane - was asked about his experience shooting the movie during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
“I remember being so frustrated, as an actor. I like to be prepared. I like to know my lines. I finally made this little adjustment that made all the difference. It was, ‘Jeff, relax, you’re making a $200 million student film with these great guys. Have fun and relax!’”
Stane, aka Iron Monger, seemed to be pretty definitively killed-off at the end of Iron Man, but Bridges reveals that his character was originally going to survive.
“When I read the script, Obadiah Stane falls in that big vat at the end. And in the script I read and agreed to do, they pull my suit out and open it and I’m not there. But who knows? It’s all science fiction and I could pop up again.”
We have no idea if Obadiah will return (it seems unlikely at this stage), but rumor has it Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) is set to play his son, Ezekiel Stane, in the upcoming Ironheart Disney+ series, which could potentially leave the door open for his father to be pulling the strings from the shadows.
It's always well worth listening to Bridges speak about his legendary career (he also discusses the current second season of The Old Man), so be sure to check out the full interview below.
A billionaire industrialist and genius inventor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is conducting weapons tests overseas, but terrorists kidnap him to force him to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds an armored suit and upends his captors. Returning to America, Stark refines the suit and uses it to combat crime and terrorism.