From the second Shane Black was first announced to be directing, it was inevitable that Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel Iron Man 3 was going to reference Christmas in one way or another.
After all, ever since the writer and filmmaker broke out in a massive way with his script for Lethal Weapon, almost every single one of his movies from The Long Kiss Goodnight to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang via The Last Boy Scout and The Nice Guys have been packed to the brim with Yuletide cheer, and he wasn’t going to change the habit of a lifetime.
Disney and Marvel have both confirmed in the past that Iron Man 3 qualifies as a Christmas film, and during the Hawkeye press event hosted by ComicBook, the company’s Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige reiterated that point once again when discussing the Disney Plus series.
“I want to thank you yes, I would say that as well, but it came out in the summer. This is fun, because it is a Christmas story that is taking place during the holidays. And it also was based on early discussions about a limited time period, about setting a series in not quite real-time, but essentially in a six-day period, six episodes, six days – will Clint make it home for Christmas? Which was fun and a breath of fresh air after world-ending stakes, Celestials bursting out of planets and multiverse shenanigans, that is this is, like Hawkeye himself, a grounded family-based show.”
Iron Man 3 trends on an annual basis right around the festive season as the MCU’s only tinsel-laded entry until Hawkeye arrives next week, and while it doesn’t generate the same levels of ‘is it or isn’t it?’ debates that follow Die Hard everywhere it goes, when the man in charge of the entire operation tells you that it’s a Christmas caper, you’ve got to take him at his word.