Claim: The Marvel Cinematic Universe's first film was 2008's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr.

Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures . It is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The film was directed by Jon Favreau , with a screenplay by Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway . It stars Robert Downey Jr. , Terrence Howard , Jeff Bridges , Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow . In Iron Man , Tony Stark , an industrialist and master engineer , builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man .   The film had been in development since 1990 at Universal Pictures , 20th Century Fox , or New Line Cinema at various times , before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006 . Marvel put the project in production as its first self-financed film , with Paramount Pictures as its distributor . Favreau signed on as director , aiming for a naturalistic feel , and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California , rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero films set in New York City-esque environments . Filming began in March 2007 and concluded in June . During filming , the actors were free to create their own dialogue because pre-production was focused on the story and action . Rubber and metal versions of the armors , created by Stan Winston 's company , were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character .   Iron Man premiered in Sydney on April 14 , 2008 , and was released in theaters on May 2 , 2008 . The film was a critical and commercial success , grossing over $ 585 million and garnering widespread critical acclaim . Downey 's performance as Tony Stark was particularly praised . The American Film Institute selected the film as one of the ten best of the year . It was also nominated for two Academy Awards for the Best Sound Editing and the Best Visual Effects . Two sequels , Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 , were released on May 7 , 2010 , and May 3 , 2013 , respectively .