Iron Man | Behind-The-Scenes An adaptation of Iron Man had been in the works for decades at various studios, in various permutations. 20th Century Fox’s version courted Tom Cruise in the late 1990s, and New Line Cinema enlisted Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) to direct in the mid-2000s. When that iteration fell through, the rights finally landed back with Marvel Studios, and they began work from scratch. Marvel had a rough time convincing writers to take a crack at Iron Man at this time, largely