Jon Favreau was Livid When U.S. Military Had Him Remove Line From Iron Man
On the set of Iron Man there was a clash between Jon Favreau and a representative of the US military. However, the director had no choice but to agree to censorship.
It's no secret that U.S. filmmakers often enlist the help of the U.S. Navy when they shoot productions that tell stories about or deal with the military. It is also no secret that for this reason, decision-makers from the US military sometimes interfere in the resulting shows. Such was the case, for example, with Top Gun. As it turns out, however, the work that kick started MCU benefited from the support of the U.S. military, and thus - to Jon Favreau's dismay - had to reckon with its opinion.
In order for Marvel's movie (and any other) productions to use real uniforms and other elements of military-related iconography, its creators were required to cooperate with the Department of Defense. The function of its representative on the set of Iron Man was performed by Philip Strub, who, on behalf of the army, took care of the favorable image of the navy portrayed in the movie. The liaison however, did not like a certain dialogue line coming from the mouth of a soldier, which led to a behind-the-scenes conflict with Jon Favreau.
Strub told the authors of the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios that he argued with the director on set over a phrase uttered by a military officer who claimed he would "kill himself" for the opportunities Tony Stark offers. Joking about suicide was not something befitting a military man.
"There were maybe 200 people there, and [Favreau] and I were arguing about it. He was getting red in the face, and I was getting as angry as he was."
The authors of the aforementioned book point out that Favreau did not understand the significance of the words. For him, it was just a popular saying. The exasperated director inquired whether a statement about "walking over hot coals" would have been acceptable, and Strub already agreed. In the end, however, none of these lines made it into the movie.
