Robert Downey Jr. has been the most iconic superhero for as long as one can remember. 2008 marked the rise of the actor as Iron Man and shortly after, the movie turned into a series that turned into an entire franchise. 2010 introduced Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow but it showed more than that as well. Iron Man 2 not only gave rise to the Avengers but, it created a franchise that is, at the moment, the biggest in the world.
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While now the franchise may be as big as it is, that was not the case when it initially began. So to compensate for a lot of creative decisions that some actors wanted to make, they had to take things into their own hands, Mickey Rourke was no different.
Mickey Rourke Bought His Own Pet Cockatoo For Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 2
The budget for Iron Man 2 had not been enough for many things that the cast and crew wanted to pull off. However, that did not stop many of them. Often enough, there can be times when for the best movies the budget is not supportive. When that happens, actors can always become creative and bring in their own spice to make things better for the movie. For Marvel, it is even more common to see actors bringing their touch to their characters and the project itself to make it even better.
Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2
Mickey Rourke did something similar with the character of Whiplash. He not only got himself a pet cockatoo, but he also invested in some gold teeth to bring life to his character. It was on Rourke’s request that half of his lines were in Russian and he was primarily shown that way. While he managed to greenlight the tattoos and the Russian, for the teeth and the bird; Rourke had to pay himself. He loved the bird dearly and named him Sonny. The bird made everyone a fan of his to the extent that even Robert Downey Jr. wanted him on the movie poster.
Why Did Jon Favreau Not Direct Iron Man 3?
Jon Favreau was extremely passionate while filming the first Iron Man. His faith in Robert Downey Jr. had proven to be just right as the movie did extremely well in cinemas and established what would later become the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That was not the case for Iron Man 2. He did not like filming the movie because of the constant intervention that the studios had. The main focus for the higher authorities was to establish a franchise rather than the movie itself. That did not sit well with Favreau.
Jon Favreau
He absolutely disliked how much they were intervening with the movie and how the script was being changed while shooting was already ongoing. They increased the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. and focus on the future of the Avengers through it. Due to the arising disputes and differences, Favreau did not return to direct the third movie, however, he still played the role of Happy Hogan, one which he does to date.
