Marvel Studios celebrates Iron Man with the reveal of the book cover for The Art of Iron Man: 10th Anniversary Edition Book. While most of the 2018 Marvel Studios festivities focus on MCU’s 10th year anniversary, it’s important to remember that the famed franchise is also celebrating the first decade of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. The first movie to be produced by the budding film company, the flick laid the foundation that $16 billion-worth franchise is now standing on. It’s no secret it was a huge gamble for Marvel Studios. Despite securing funds for their first independent feature by mortgaging almost all their remaining characters, actually creating the film wasn’t a walk in the park as countless writers passed on the project due to the character’s obscurity.
Fans were already skeptical of the project and it also didn’t help that at that time, Marvel Studios picked an indie director in Jon Favreau, and cast an actor who had a really bad history of substance abuse in Downey. Over the next years, people would learn more about just how rigorous the process was - from working with a bare-boned script to having to actually build the practical suit, it’s almost a miracle that Kevin Feige and his team were able to pull the project off.
With almost a full character arc for Tony Stark coming into Avengers 4, many are wondering whether Marvel Studios is already willing to let go of their pioneering superhero. If anything, Avengers: Infinity War set-up arguably Stark’s most important mission in next year’s still-untitled ensemble flick as he and his other original Avenger pals attempt to save the galaxy from the predicament that Thanos’ has put it in. It’d make sense for the character to shy away from the spotlight, whether permanently (by dying) or temporarily (by retiring from his superhero gig) to make way for a brand new generation of heroes that could lead the charge come Phase 4. Then again, it would be an understatement to say that fans would really miss seeing Iron Man and his snarky remarks if this should eventually be the case.
With Marvel Studios looking to cap off their year early with the release of their third and final film of 2018 next week in Ant-Man & The Wasp, it’s curious if there are any other special events of releases (like this) in the next few months. Feige and his team are skipping this year’s Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con with no huge announcements whatsoever regarding anything beyond what’s already been confirmed in their current project lineup. Having said that, the producer extraordinaire has previously teased of other surprises to continue celebrating MCU’s and Iron Man’s first decade. Whatever they are and whenever they’ll be announced, fans are undoubtedly looking forward to what else are in store for the famed franchise in the latter half of the year.
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- Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02