That the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominates blockbuster cinema today is, of course, thanks to countless contributors. The mastermind behind the whole thing is still Kevin Feige. He was now a guest at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, to address the class of 2023. Before revealing a very interesting anecdote about the casting for the 2008 MCU debut “Iron Man,” Feige gave budding filmmakers an important lesson:
“I can say accept your mistakes, be persistent, work with a great group of people. But there will always be elements beyond their control. One of those elements is luck. You can have the best ideas, the best concepts, the best intentions. If life doesn’t go according to plan, these may never materialize. And that is not a bad thing, sometimes it can also be positive.”
Robert Downey Jr. was not the first choice
This introduction to the need for happiness is important because Kevin Feige, who himself was rejected a total of five times at the University of Southern California before finally being accepted, must know very well what it means to be lucky. And that’s where Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. enter. Because, as Feige explained when he attended USC film school, Downey Jr. was not the first choice at all:
“When we cast Iron Man, we looked at a lot of different actors. We had to find the perfect mix of heart, strength and charisma. Since this was our first Marvel movie, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. The success of the film and the future of our entire studio rested on the shoulders of that one person. But together we put together our list, found the right man and made an offer on our first choice – an actor who met all these criteria. And his name was Clive Owen. He wasn’t interested.”
Without a doubt, Clive Owen (“Sin City”) is an excellent actor. But would he also have become the perfect Iron Man? In retrospect, Kevin Feige is sure that Robert Downey Jr. made the right choice, because luck was ultimately on his side: “That’s the unwritten rule of luck: not making the first choice could be the best, what can happen . Because making the right choice is even better than the first choice. In our case, of course, that was Robert Downey Jr. and the first film we ever made as a studio was one of the most critically acclaimed and highest-grossing films of the year.”
The rest is history and certainly not only Kevin Feige thinks the election with Robert Downey Jr. was a very, very fortunate circumstance. Robert Downey Jr. is without a doubt one of the absolute favorites of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After “Avengers: Endgame,” fans are still hoping to see the eccentric and brilliant billionaire Tony Stark back on the big screen – played by Downey Jr.