Iron Man 3's Shane Black Reveals Christmas Setting Wasn't His Idea

Marvel Studios has been busy promoting Hawkeye, its first Disney+ show set during the holiday season. On top of that, the House of Ideas released the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special earlier this month, creating the perfect one-two punch for Marvel fans looking to get in on the seasonal action. Long before either of those projects were released, however, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had its first Christmas movie in Iron Man 3.

The film is set at the height of the season as people finish up their Christmas shopping and spread their holiday cheer. As Iron Man 3 helmer Shane Black recalls, making it a Christmas film wasn't his idea, but he was entirely on board with it. In fact, he only relented after Drew Pearce lobbied him to build it around the season.

"I didn't want Christmas to feel like a gimmick, or something that was predictable, or ostentatious on my part. It started out as fun, and as soon as people noticed it, it stopped being fun. But I acquiesced largely because of the Christmas Carol aspect of it. Tony loses his support, loses his base, he's adrift in Mid-America," Black said in a new chat with Empire. 

"And he's not going to be visited by ghosts, but he's certainly going to be in the middle of a reckoning, or a reconciliation, where he has to take stock, figure out what's troubling him, and how he's going to continue. It worked out well for the ending," he added. " The coda is basically him at Christmas, giving a gift to his fiancee, and giving a gift to a little kid who helped him. And there's a Christmas miracle when Jon Favreau's character comes out of a coma. There's something about it, where you can get dark and dark and dark, as harsh as you want, and then summon up a little Christmas, and it gives you that pleasant out that you're looking for."

And speaking of Pearce, ComicBook.com's Chris Killian spoke with the actor earlier this year. As of September, the actor was still hoping to return to the MCU in some shape, way, or form.

"No, I haven't actually," Pearce said at the time. "Um, and I suppose I've just written off the idea because of what happened to Aldrich Killian at the end of Iron Man 3 but at the same time, within those worlds kind of anything is possible, and yet I still haven't received a call from anyone at Marvel. So I'm not sure if it's in the works, but who knows." 

Iron Man 3 is now streaming on Disney+.

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