Marvel’s Iron Man once might have slightly rubbed Oscar-winner Gary Oldman the wrong way. To Oldman, Robert Downey Jr.’s superhero blockbuster highlighted a problem Oldman had with many modern day blockbusters.
How Gary Oldman felt about starring in so many blockbuster franchises
Oldman has been a part of some of the film industry’s most lucrative and profitable franchises. He spent years playing a pivotal role in the Harry Potter series as the wizard Sirius Black. Apart from that, he’s contributed his talents to Matt Reeves’ rebooted Planet of the Apes films and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
In a 2014 interview with Esquire, Oldman felt he was fortunate to be able to star in so many popular blockbusters. Especially since doing so offered him a lot of downtime.
“I’ve been lucky to be associated with these franchises and that allows me to spend more time at home. If one can do the smallest amount of work for the most possible money, that seems smart,” he said.
Oldman also joked about somewhat competing with Samuel L. Jackson, who was also known for starring in a variety of blockbusters.
“I am having this little race with Sam Jackson. He overtook me for a while, but to overtake us two you’d have to have a career where you took in a franchise or two,” he said.
Why Gary Oldman called Marvel’s ‘Iron Man’ movie ‘Stupid’
Oldman at one point aimed to lead another potential franchise with the rebooted Robocop film. Robocop was a 2014 reboot of the original Robocop movie that was released in 1987. It saw Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman playing a more contemporary take on the iconic character.
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Oldman decided to do the film after seeing how the movie’s director, Jose Padilha, retooled Robocop’s story. To Oldman, Padilha did for Robocop what Nolan did for the Batman franchise.
“What the director wanted to do was take the ideas from the first movie and expand on them. To do that, he had to smash it to pieces. It’s what Nolan did with Batman. He just wiped the slate clean, went way back to the original source material, and then gave you the world. He reinvented it,” he said.
Oldman also praised Robocop for being smarter and perhaps more realistic than most films in its genre like Iron Man. Iron Man was another action movie that saw a man merging with a machine to bring justice to criminals and wrongdoers. But The Professional star believed Robocop handled the premise with a bit more intelligence.
“It’s a genre movie, but why does it have to be f***ing stupid? Like, Iron Man flies from Malibu to Afghanistan; that’s stupid,” Oldman said when comparing Robocop to Iron Man.
Gary Oldman wouldn’t mind starring in a Marvel film nowadays
Oldman’s opinion on certain genre movies might have changed over the years. So much so that the actor wouldn’t mind adding a Marvel movie or two to his long list of successful franchises before he retires. But joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be more for his kids than for himself.
“Marvel hasn’t called me,” Oldman told People in 2018. “But now that you mentioned it, if they’re tuning in, my son wants me to!”
