Cool Video Offers a Look at Stan Winston Studios Creating the Armor for Marvel's IRON MAN
I recently came across this video that gives Marvel fans a behind the scenes look at the work they did on Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. I know this has been out for a while, but I don’t recall ever seeing it before, so I thought I’d share it with those of you that may have missed it as well.
This video mostly focuses on building the first initial suits for Robert Downey Jr/s Tony Stark including the Mark 1 and the Mark 3. Yes, when they made this first Iron Man movie, they actually built full suits for the actor to wear! Those have since been replaced by motional capture suits and CGI.
The biggest he biggest challenge for the effects team was to create suits that retained their well-known comic book proportions while still allowing Robert Downey Jr. and his stuntmen to perform with minimal discomfort and maximum range of motion.
When talking about seeing Robert Downey Jr. in the suit for the first time Kevin Feige said, “Seeing Robert in the suit for the first time was like watching a kid in a candy store. He looked amazing and had all of the enthusiasm of a little boy. Then, he suddenly stood up and you could see the hero forming within him.”
Downey Jr. added, “Being in the Iron Man suit is like being in the coolest Halloween costume ever. You’re putting the suit on and you catch a glimpse in the mirror and you go, That’s right, Grandma would be proud.”
Executive producer Louis D’Esposito said, “The finished Mark III armor was the culmination of a truly collaborative effort of many talented designers, technicians, craftsmen and filmmakers. The Mark III suit is a life-size, three-dimensional prototype of something that you’ve only seen in a comic book until now. It is the comic book character come to life, which really is a testament to Marvel, Jon Favreau, Stan Winston Studio and all of the incredibly talented people on the production team that helped conceive, design and build this iconic Iron Man armor.”
This is such a cool video and if you’ve never seen it or forgot about it, I hope you watch and enjoy it!