Movies
Published May 23, 2023

‘Iron Man’: Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau Discuss the Movie’s 15th Anniversary

The duo touch on casting, Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role, Easter Eggs here and there for future installments, and more.

15 years ago, Tony Stark looked into a crowd of reporters and uttered, “I am Iron Man,” and nothing has been the same since.

With Iron Man celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige and Iron Man director Jon Favreau recently sat down together to discuss the armored avenger and creating the blueprint for what would eventually become the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now 32 films and counting. And no, way back when neither one of them could have ever dreamed dozens of films later they would still be exploring the larger Marvel Universe together.

“I remember saying something to you like, John, we're going to be together, you know, every day for the next two years,” Feige recalls. “And you said, no, if this works, we're going to be together for the next ten years. And you were wrong because it's now been 15 years.”

The wide-ranging conversation touches on everything from casting, Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role, planting little Easter Eggs here and there for future installments, and even how future MCU director Ryan Coogler was at one of the very first Iron Man screenings and watched Feige and Favreau intro the movie for the crowd.

“[Ryan] told me a story— this was months and months if not a year into working with him,” Feige recalls. “He said, by the way, I want to tell you something…he said that he saw us walk past him. He'd been getting popcorn and was running and late as we were going [into the theater] and he said, ‘You guys look confident. I knew the movie is going to be good, you looked confident.’”

Watch their full discussion in the video above.

Looking for more Tony Stark? Sign up for Disney+ and start streaming now! Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more details! And be sure to follow Marvel on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and TikTok!

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