Marvel’s “Chinese Kid Idea” For Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Movie Was Rejected to Avoid One More Side Kick From Indiana Jones Situation
Tony Stark, often known as Iron Man, is a well-known character played by actor Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stan Lee co-created the character, Larry Lieber developed it, and Don Heck and Jack Kirby designed it. Directed by Jon Favreau, the first installment of the Iron Man series debuted in 2008.
The first film in the MCU’s Phase One was well-received by both audiences and reviewers, and it went on to become one of the top eight-grossing films of 2008. The performance has received constant recognition for the actor’s on-screen interpretation of the superhero, and in 2022 the Library of Congress chose to add the film to the United States National Film Registry.
Also read: Robert Downey Jr. Almost Became Superman’s Archnemesis in DC Before His Iron Man Fame With MCU
Ty Simpkins’ Harley Keener was set to play the next Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man
The third part of the Iron Man series and the seventh movie in the MCU was released in 2013 with Robert Downey Jr. once again donning the Iron Man suit. The movie is regarded as one of the most divisive MCU movies till now. In the movie where the character was seen struggling with anxiety and PTSD as a result of the Battle of New York in The Avengers, Tony Stark was seen being helped by a young boy named Harley Kenner.
Ty Simpkins, who gave Tony Stark shelter and whatever help he needed to repair his suit, played Harley Kenner. It was at one point noted that Harley Kenner could become a prominent character in the franchise as the young boy was not based on any comic book character, but it was the director Shane Black who had proposed the idea to the studios to have a superhero running into a little kid in America.
The audience witnessed the beautiful bond Keener and Stark shared on-screen with Stark leaving brand new equipment for the young guy in his garage, which was seen as the possibility of Harley Kenner becoming the next Tony Stark/ Iron Man, but unfortunately, the character, the last in history as Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, was allowed to become next Tony Stark.
Chris Fenton proposed having a Chinese Kid to replace Harley Keener for Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3
According to Bleeding Soul, Chris Fenton, former president of the Chinese-based DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group, proposed the idea of replacing Harley Keener with a Chinese child to impress the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, at the time.
Fenton said during his pitch with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito,
“Well, you have a kid in Iron Man 3. He lives somewhere in rural America, possibly in Iowa… Well, what happens if that kid is Chinese? What I mean is, what happens if we make that kid Chinese because his father, like Xi Jinping, is actually on an exchange in rural America and his son happens to be with him? Iron Man comes across the kid as he’s struggling to find shelter.”
He continued,
“The Chinese kid takes him in and nurses him back to health. And then later, when Tony Stark is trying to save the day in the third act and he can’t get his glove to complete the Iron Man transformation, this Chinese kid helps open the shed so that the glove can fly off to join Iron Man to save the world?”
It was further said that Louis D’Esposito told Fenton,
“That said, your Chinese-kid idea is not happening. Because we’re not interested in having the sidekick from Indiana Jones in Iron Man 3.”
The sidekick from Indiana Jones referred to is the character Short Round, played by actor Ke Huy Quan in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, who is Indiana Jones’ sidekick.
Kevin Feige mentioned during the conversation that the idea felt too much and heavy, adding that they needed to think about how it would look on-screen while staying true to their IP, its mythology, and the hardcore fans that are very important to the franchise.
