It is simple to neglect that Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” was thought of one thing of a threat when it was launched in 2008. Marvel hadn’t but been bought by Disney at that time, whereas the onslaught of the eventual Marvel Cinematic Universe was however a glint in Favreau’s eye. When he included a cameo look from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, delivering traces concerning the Avengers Initiative, Favreau meant for it to function nothing greater than a wink to followers. It wasn’t till the next 12 months that Disney bought Marvel and put plans for the Avengers into correct movement.
Robert Downey Jr. starred as Tony Stark/Iron Man, and the movie proved to be a boon for his profession. The actor has spoken very brazenly about how the years 1996 to 2001 had been a time of intense substance abuse for him, culminating in him lastly going to rehab in November 2001 after consuming a horrible burger (an incident that impressed an notorious second in “Iron Man”). Downey went on to land a number of superb roles from 2001 to 2008, in fact (please go watch “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), however nothing was a large hit till “Iron Man.” He went on to develop into one of many world’s most acknowledged stars and received an Oscar for his efficiency within the movie “Oppenheimer” some 4 years after ending his stint as Tony Stark in 2019. (The character died in that 12 months’s “Avengers: Endgame.”)
Previous to “Iron Man,” nevertheless, Downey was being thought of for an additional Marvel Comics undertaking. In a 2009 interview with Gizmodo, Paul McGuigan — the director of “Fortunate Quantity Slevin” and “Push” (no relation to the man from Oasis) — talked about how he was gunning to make a Deathlok function movie. If McGuigan had gotten his manner, Downey would have performed Marvel’s cyborg character.
Robert Downey, Jr. was being thought of to play Deathlok
A live-action Deathlok would ultimately be portrayed by J. August Richards on the TV sequence “Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.” The character debuted in Marvel Comics in 1974 and gained new fame in 1990 when he was rebooted with a contemporary origin story. The character, in his unique iteration, was an American soldier killed on the battlefield earlier than being resurrected in cyborg kind by a twisted scientist a few years sooner or later. He fights the evils of a futuristic dystopian company America, all whereas having a dialog with an clever laptop that shares his mind. In all his iterations, Deathlok is a Black man.
Within the Gizmodo interview, McGuigan admitted that the rumors of his “Deathlok” film had been true. There had been a Deathlok movie within the works because the early Nineteen Nineties. The undertaking ultimately moved to Paramount in 2001, with Lee Tamahori hooked up to direct. When that model of the film fell via, McGuigan took over. (This was about 2004.) The plan was for McGuigan to direct, with screenwriter David Self (“The Haunting,” “Highway to Perdition”) ending off the script.
It wasn’t to be, sadly, which is just too dangerous; McGuigan was actually into the idea and preferred the “laptop voice contained in the cyborg’s head” angle. As he put it:
“I used to be actually into it, however Marvel modified their thoughts. […] In a manner, it felt like ‘Knight Rider,’ the place you could have the machine speaking to him. […] The script was actually good. David Self isn’t any slouch, he is an incredible screenwriter. And the entire thought of nanotechnology was fascinating.”
McGuigan went on to disclose a few of his concepts for the movie. The villainous scientist character would have been extra whimsical and zany, inventing Deathlok as a method to be remembered by historical past. And sure, McGuigan felt Downey would have been nice within the function (though he is white).
This interview was performed earlier than Deathlok appeared on “Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” so McGuigan could not touch upon that but.
