On April 28, 2006, it was announced that Jon Favreau would be directing Iron Man, with Paramount Pictures distributing. Favreau found an opportunity to create a politically ambitious "ultimate spy movie," with influences from Tom Clancy, James Bond and RoboCop. Filming began in March 2007 for a May 2, 2008 release.

Robert Downey Jr. was announced to play Tony Stark in September 2006 with the rest of the cast following soon after. Terrence Howard will play Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Gwyneth Paltrow is Virginia "Pepper" Potts and Jeff Bridges rounds out the all-star cast as Obadiah Stane.