Shane Black Says 'Iron Man 3' Had a Female Villain Who Was Cut Over Toy Sale Concerns
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts in ‘Iron Man 3’ (Photo: Disney, Marvel Studios/AP)
By Lamarco McClendon, Variety
Shane Black, director of Iron Man 3, revealed that the original villain in the third installment of the Iron Man franchise received a gender-swap before going into production.
Related: 'Predator’ Reboot in the Works With 'Iron Man 3’ Director
“There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem—which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft,” Black said in an interview with Uproxx.
“We had finished the script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying ‘that cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female,'” Black added.
Related: 'Captain America’ Filmmakers Announce Chinese Superhero Project
Black said many of the female roles were reduced in Iron Man 3 including Stephanie Szostak’s and Rebecca Hall’s.
Comic-book fans became critical of the film after one of the main villains of the “Iron Man” universe, Mandarin, was revealed to not be the main antagonist in a plot twist. Guy Pearce took over the role as the villain, playing scientist Aldrich Killian.
Related: Robert Downey Jr.: How Iron Man Started His Career By Playing a Dog
“In the earlier draft, the woman was essentially Killian—and they didn’t want a female Killian, they wanted a male Killian,” Black continued. “I liked the idea, like Remington Steele, you think it’s the man but at the end, the woman has been running the whole show. They just said, ‘no way.'”
Black said Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, had nothing to do with the decision and that “we had to change the entire script because of toy making.”
‘Iron Man 3′ Flashback: Watch Robert Downey Jr.’s red carpet interview at the premiere:
