Iron Man Director Jon Favreau Used A Sneaky Tactic To Cast Robert Downey Jr.

Long before we reached the point of Marvel Cinematic Universe overload; before "Secret Invasion" failed to encapsulate the momentous and historic feeling of the comic book story on which it was based, in a time where being accused of overworking CGI artists in order to churn out a never-ending stream of "content" was inconceivable, there was just Kevin Feige and his dream of a shared cinematic universe.

Of course, now such a concept is widespread, with everyone from Universal and its failed "Dark Universe" to Lionsgate and its wildly successful "John Wick" franchise trying their hand at establishing a shared on-screen world. But whatever you want to say about Feige these days, there's no doubt his contributions to blockbuster film-making have been nothing short of revolutionary. Over the past 15 or so years, the MCU has redefined big-budget movie-making. And it all started with 2008's "Iron Man."

At the time, Feige not only had a vision for what the MCU could become, but he knew how to go about building it, piece by piece. As the Marvel Studios head said in making-of clip, he knew when it came to casting Tony Stark in "Iron Man" that he needed the hero to be "as interesting out of costume as they are in costume." In retrospect, Robert Downey Jr. seems like a no-brainer to fulfill that particular requirement, but it turns out some sneaky tactics were required to smuggle the actor past some Marvel board members who couldn't quite see the vision. 

"Iron Man" was the movie that changed Hollywood forever, and there's no doubt so much of its success, not to mention the success of the MCU overall, is down to Robert Downey Jr.'s casting as Tony Stark/Iron Man. In a discussion on the Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel, "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau recalled to Kevin Feige how RDJ had originally auditioned to play a general in the film, but that Favreau couldn't help but think, "Geez he just got it, he's got that spark in him and his eye and he's ready."

During that discussion, Feige referred to the actor's casting as "one of the greatest decisions in the history of Hollywood." He's not far off, considering the film's subsequent success with launching the MCU. But at the time, some Marvel board members evidently weren't as enthusiastic.

/Film's Ben Pearson spoke with Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, co-authors of the soon-to-be-published book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios." In the impressive tome, Jon Favreau reveals how he had to resort to some underhanded tactics to secure Downey Jr.'s casting. According to the director, then-Marvel head Ike Perlmutter, along with several Marvel board members, were entirely against RDJ playing Tony Stark, with Favreau quoting them as saying "Under no circumstances are we prepared to hire him for any price."

The fact that RDJ's career had taken a downturn some years prior to "Iron Man" being made, with the actor struggling with substance addictions and arrests in the 1990s, seemed to spook the Marvel execs, who wanted to ensure their new venture went off without a hitch. But Favreau and Feige knew RDJ was the key.

As recounted in "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," Jon Favreau's solution to the Marvel board's hesitancy was to take matters into his own hands and leak news of Robert Downey Jr. being considered for the role to The Hollywood Reporter. Once the trade reported the news, fans reacted enthusiastically, finally convincing Ike Perlmutter and the board to cave.

But it wasn't just Favreau that helped Downey Jr. win the role. Before Kevin Feige assumed the top spot at Marvel Studios, the company was run by David Maisel, who previously told The New Yorker how, at the time, the Marvel board "thought [he] was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict." According to Maisel, he reinforced to the board that "we all had confidence that [Downey Jr.] was clean and would stay clean."

Though it took some effort on the part of Favreau, Maisel, and Kevin Feige, RDJ ultimately won the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, beating out the other main contender, Timothy Olyphant. The rest, as "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" recounts, is history. But it remains remarkable how everything came together on the film that kicked off the MCU, considering the hurdles that had to be overcome. As co-author Joanna Robinson told /Film's Ben Pearson:

"All of the people we talked to on ["Iron Man"] described the incredible amount of chaos and just sort of indie movie, fly by night approach to this movie that, at the end of the day, stands as one of the most important and impressive blockbusters of all time, but when you dig into how it was made, it's a miracle."

"MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" hits shelves on October 10, 2023.