2010 Marvel Studios film
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to Iron Man (2008) and the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Stark rejects government demands to share his Iron Man suit technology, which is slowly killing him. Russian scientist Ivan Vanko (Rourke) creates his own version and plots revenge against the Stark family.
Development on a sequel to Iron Man began in May 2008 after the success of the first film. In July, Theroux was hired to write the script and Favreau was signed to return as director. Downey, Paltrow, and Jackson were set to reprise their roles from Iron Man, while Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. In early 2009, Rourke, Rockwell, and Johansson filled out the supporting cast. Filming took place from April to July 2009, mostly in California as with the first film. A key sequence was filmed in Monaco. Unlike its predecessor, which mixed digital and practical effects, the sequel primarily relied on computer-generated imagery to create the Iron Man suits.
Iron Man 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on April 26, 2010, and was released in the United States on May 7 as part of Phase One of the MCU. Critics praised Downey's performance but deemed the sequel to be inferior to the first film. It grossed over $623 million, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2010, and was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 83rd Academy Awards among other accolades. A sequel, Iron Man 3, was released in 2013.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.