Disney+ Slams Marvel’s Kevin Feige AGAIN as Director Speaks on Divisive Movie | Popgen Tech

It’s safe to say that not every sequel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been well received. And the MCU’s first taste of completing a trilogy came in the form of Iron Man 3 (2013) — the sequel to both Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). But, despite the debate over whether a Marvel movie is good or bad in general, it’s often overshadowed by the argument over whether it’s a Christmas movie or not.

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Christmas movies come in all shapes and sizes. From feel-good pictures like The feast (2006) in nostalgic family films like Alone at home (1990), action-packed thrillers like Die Hard (1988), and new television specials like Disney and Marvel’s own The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022).

However, even before director James Gunn’s special hits the Disney+ streaming service, Marvel already has an MCU movie slated for the festive season — Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. The third solo outing for the red and gold Avenger came in Marvel Phase 2 and saw Robert Downey Jr. again. the arrogant but loving Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. He is joined by Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, with Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce as pseudo-villains Trevor Slattery AKA the Mandarin and Aldrich Killian, respectively.

The sequence of events in the second Iron Man sequel found Tony Stark out of touch with his allies and workshops of armor and weapons. Iron Man 3 is also set around Christmas time, meaning that over the years, many have questioned whether this MCU film can officially be classified as a holiday movie. Marvel boss Kevin Feige certainly thinks so. Last year during the press for Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeyethe President of Marvel Studios had this to say about Black’s Iron Man entries:

“I like it too [say that Iron Man 3 is a Christmas story]. Thank you Yes, I would say that too. But it came out in the summer. This [Hawkeye] It’s fun because it’s a Christmas story that takes place during the holidays, and it’s also based on early discussions about a limited time period.”

However, as Feige himself considered Iron Man 3 a Christmas story, Disney+ left it in the festive roundup that the service puts together every Christmas season. And this year is no different with the streamer taking on the Marvel exec once again. and excluding the Iron Man film from its Christmas portfolio.

While director Shane Black is known for his Christmas-centric films, the idea about the setting Iron Man 3 during the holidays wasn’t his, in fact, it was co-writer Drew Pearce. Speaking to Empire (via Comic Book Movie), Black said:

“I don’t want Christmas to feel like a gimmick, or something predictable, or pretentious on my part. It started out as fun, and as soon as people noticed it, it stopped being fun. But I agreed mainly because of the Christmas Carol aspect of it. Tony lost his support, lost his base, he was drifting in Mid-America.”

The Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) the director continued:

“The coda is basically him at Christmas, giving a present to his girlfriend, and giving a present to a little boy who helps him. And there’s a miracle at Christmas when Jon Favreau’s character comes out of a coma . “There’s something about it, where you can go dark and dark and dark, as harsh as you want, and then summon a little Christmas, and it’ll give you the satisfying show you’re looking for.”

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Then, considering both Marvel head Feige and helmer Black Iron Man 3 a Christmas movie, so why isn’t The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service celebrating it?

It was 2019 when MCU fans said goodbye to Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. after the Avenger sacrifices himself to save the universe from Thanos (Josh Brolin). However, the Iron Man mythos is set to live on in the Disney+ series next year Heart of steel which will see Dominique Thorne reprise her role as Riri Williams; the actress made her debut as Ironheart in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

What do you think Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie? Let us know in the comments below!