Iron Man 3 Actress Rebecca Hall Reveals There Was a More Heroic Plan for Her Character

Of the nearly two dozen films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the more difficult entries to develop was Iron Man 3, given that it had to follow the massive success of Marvel The Avengers, with star Rebecca Hall revealing that the original plans for her character involved her being a major villain in the film and earning a heroic redemption, with her role being changed during filming. Written by Drew Pearce and Shane Black, with Black going on to direct, the film went through a number of changes throughout its development, with its ultimate $1.2 billion gross seemingly confirming that the various evolutions of the story paid off.

“She was meant to be a sort of – oh God, I can’t even remember probably now,” Hall recalled with Collider of the role. “In the first script that I read she was in it to the end and she created whatever that serum-y thing was and then she sort of saved it by doing an act of martyrdom at the end and there was a whole like, she was evil but then she tries to be good at the end situation. It was a better part.”

Rumors about the film claim that Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter thought that having a female villain wouldn’t earn major toy sales, resulting in the reduction of her character mid-production. The actress previously expressed her disappointment over her reduced role.

“(It) was heartbreaking, but that was a few years ago now,” Hall shared with The Wrap in 2017. “They have to be able to sell female action figures now if they are putting women in lead roles. I hope everything will trickle down accordingly.”

She added, “There seem to be more big franchises that are becoming more female-centric, and have women leads, whether it is Brie Larson or Wonder Woman, and I think that’s great.”

To say the landscape of superheroes has changed since Iron Man 3 would be a bit of an understatement, as some of the genre’s most financially and critically successful films are those focusing on female heroes. As far as whether the actress would ever return to the superhero world, she added, “I would not turn my nose up at one of those. But I don’t think I’ll rush into playing a part that may be reduced in a hurry.”

Stay tuned for details on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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