Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3 had a mind-blowing practical stunt sequence which redeems the billion dollar film’s negative responses.
Though Robert Downey Jr. is all set to return to the MCU as Doctor Doom, his legacy as Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man will forever be remembered. The actor has had many iconic scenes in the franchise and it will be tough for fans to accept him as a villain, after seeing his character arc in the Iron Man series.
One scene from Iron Man 3 will always baffle fans due to the heroic nature of it as well as the effort the team took behind the scenes to make it look authentic. The ‘Barrel of Monkeys’ sequence from the third film was reportedly filmed with the Red Bull skydiving team for real as they jumped from over 12,000 feet.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3 Had A Practical Stunt That Is Still Legendary
Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3 | Credits: Marvel Studios
Robert Downey Jr. kickstarted the MCU with the first Iron Man, which established the franchise and revived his career which was marred by controversies. The actor returned to the role in the sequel Iron Man 2 and then appeared along with other MCU heroes in The Avengers.
When Iron Man 3 is mentioned, fans usually think of the ‘focus on Tony Stark more than Iron Man’ storyline and the butchering of the Mandarin. However, one scene in particular redeems the film and is probably why it became the highest-grossing Iron Man film with $1.2 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).
A still from Iron Man 3 | Credits: Marvel Studios
The ‘Barrel of Monkeys’ scene where Iron Man saves the service staff of Air Force One by making them grab each other like the barrel of monkeys game was reportedly filmed practically with the Red Bull skydiving team. The team reportedly used real divers jumping from 12,000 feet instead of doing it on a green screen (via THR).
The team reportedly also featured as extras in the Air Force One scene before so that it established them instead of going for stunt doubles.
Iron Man 3’s VFX Team Had To Painstakingly Remove Wires And Add CGI
Behind the scenes of Iron Man 3 | Credits: YouTube/Marvel Studios Movies
To get the visceral experience of people jumping out of a plane as it crashes and Iron Man saving them in Iron Man 3, VFX supervisor Christopher Townsend and second-unit director Brian Smrz reportedly decided to shoot the dive practically instead of shooting them on a green screen.
While the jumpers were kept in the shot, most of the other backgrounds were reportedly replaced with CGI. From CGI hand doubles to replacing the stand-in for Iron Man, the VFX team had to painstakingly work on the sequence to perfect it. The formation was also reportedly shot for real with wires and the team had to remove them in post (via THR),
All 14 of the stunt people were hanging on wires, so the photography looked like a marionette show. We had to get rid of the wires, and a lot of wires crossed over other performers. It was very time-consuming work.
The VFX team, however, reportedly used most of the jumpers in the shots, with digital doubles sparingly used.
Iron Man 3 is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.
