RDJ is "Hell-Bent on Protecting" Iron Man
Robert Downey, Jr. says that the Iron Man movie "worked" because the concept wasn't too far out!
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.
"My take - Jon [Favreau, director] was in agreement, and Marvel supported us - was that once you tell an origins story pretty well, that's usually where things start to get dull, and one or two or three things start to happen over and over again.
"So, we made Tony Stark's challenges very much outside the usual realm of activity. As much as anything else, it's much more of a side job for him the second time around. And the great thing, too, is that the Marvel universe is wild; it's so far out. That's the big balance to strike. It would be so easy to go so far out it would intergalactic and nothing would be grounded in reality any more."
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)!
DISCLAIMER: This posting was submitted by a user of the site not from Earth's Mightiest editorial staff. All users have acknowledged and agreed that the submission of their content is in compliance with our Terms of Use. For removal of copyrighted material, please contact us HERE.