Many of us were surprised after seeing the trailer for Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3, mostly because it seemed that the film would be so much darker and serious than previous entries in the franchise. In a recent interview with The West Australian, the film’s star Robert Downey Jr., its director Shane Black, and Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige weighed in on the tonal shift and said that it won’t dominate the film.
On the overall tone of the film, producer Kevin Feige had this to say:
It’s not a serious movie, but we seriously dig into exploring more of Tony. The trick is just trying to make great movies. We try to make them all great, all different and all fresh. What you’ll see in Iron Man 3 is some very unique directions that were taken.
Director Shane Black also clarified their approach to the sequel:
We’re not aiming for bigger, necessarily. We’re aiming for different and fresh and new. It’s all about capturing that lightning-in-a-bottle feel, about trying to get as much into this as we can. We’re looking to get a ton of thrills into a short space, to make a nice little stew for you.
Lastly, Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., said that all of the stylistic changes are appropriate:
You can dissect why [The Avengers] was the right movie with the right people and the right director at the time. But we feel the same way about Iron Man 3 now.
I’m happy with the idea of a darker look inside Tony Stark’s character, but it’s nice to know that Iron Man 3 will still have a Marvel film feeling to it and not a Dark Knight one. Trying to make a sequel different and yet familiar is difficult, but when you have people like these three involved, who obviously care about the production, the result tends to surpass expectations.
Iron Man 3 opens in 3D and 2D theaters on May 3, 2013.
What do you think? Were you hoping for the darkest Marvel film yet? Let us know in the comments below.