Shane Black, the filmmaker of Iron Man 3, had to be persuaded to set the movie around the holiday season. Despite having a habit of releasing his movies around the holidays, his initial plans for Iron Man 3 did not include that. According to Black, who spoke to Empire, “I didn’t want Christmas to seem like a gimmick, or anything that was expected, or pompous on my side.” It was amusing at first, but as soon as people saw it, it became boring. However, Drew Pearce, who co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with Black, persuaded Black to place the movie over the holiday.
His interest in setting the film during the winter holidays was renewed after comparing it to another famous Christmas story. “I acquiesced largely because of the Christmas Carol aspect of it,” said Black. “Tony loses his support, loses his base, he’s adrift in Mid-America. And he’s not going to be visited by ghosts, but he’s certainly going to be in the middle of a reckoning, or a reconciliation, where he has to take stock, figure out what’s troubling him, and how he’s going to continue.” Iron Man 3 was the first MCU film released after 2012’s The Avengers and focused on Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.) dealing with the aftermath of the event. This included dealing with the fact that he came close to dying when he led a missile through a wormhole to finally defeat the Chitauri. After his home is attacked and everybody thought he was killed, Tony finds himself on his own in a small town, where he is assisted by Harley Kenner (Ty Simpkins).
