IRON MAN 3: "Demon in a Bottle" Comic Story Was Planned, Pulled, Will Probably Never Happen and Why it Would've Worked
Fans have wanted it and Iron Man 3 writer Drew Pearce and writer/director Shane Black wanted it but the Mouse God in the sky said, "NO." Iron Man's famous "Demon in a Bottle" comic book story arc was initially an idea for the basis for Iron Man 3 but Disney didn't want to show Tony Stark dealing with alcoholism and drinking heavily on the big screen.
This should be no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Disney. The entertainment company focuses its brands on being family-friendly and steers its biggest and most popular franchises away from R ratings too. This is why there probably won't be another Punisher movie, unless the character and story are toned down to a PG-13 rating. Most fans would not be happy with that kind of Punisher movie, but moving on.
With regards to Tony Stark and Iron Man, he is the main character in Marvel's Cinematic Universe so it makes sense why Disney would tell those who helmed Iron Man 3 no to alcoholism. Disney doesn't want their lead to be seen in that state of being.
So will the "Demon in a Bottle" comic book story arc ever be adapted for the movies? Probably not and here's why.
If there was a time to adapt that story into a movie it would have been with Iron Man 3. We already know Stark is haunted by the events of The Avengers and he can't sleep either.
In Iron Man 3, Stark is dealing with the fallout and effect of fighting off an alien invasion and nearly dying after sacrificing himself to escort a nuclear missile through a portal and into space. Give the guy a break and let him have some drinks. It's not like he hasn't been seen drinking in past movies already.
Seeing Stark cope this way is not unrealistic, in fact, it's very realistic. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with his post-Avengers movie stress isn't out of the ordinary—and of course never endorsed as a coping mechanism—it also makes sense why Black and Pearce wanted to use it in an early version of their script.
Seeing Stark cope this way is not unrealistic, in fact, it's very realistic. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with his post-Avengers movie stress isn't out of the ordinary—and of course never endorsed as a coping mechanism—it also makes sense why Black and Pearce wanted to use it in an early version of their script.
"In our first draft Tony was a bit more rock ‘n’ roll," Pearce said in a recent interview, on how Stark was dealing with things post-Avengers, but then Disney stepped in.
"I think we were just told by [Disney] that we should probably paint Tony Stark as being kind of an industrialist and a crazy guy, or even a bad guy at some points, but the 'Demon in a Bottle' stuff of him being an alcoholic wouldn’t really fly," Black said in the same interview.
Maybe Disney is a bit too self-conscience when it comes to its movies and their ratings but if they can show a pirate captain drinking and sometimes being drunk in their billion dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, then they should be able to show Stark drunk. Matter of fact, he has already been seen in a drunken state in Iron Man 2 at his birthday party—and he even joked about relieving himself in his suit during that scene too.
Even though Black said Disney could still use the story in a future Iron Man movie, it's doubtful that will happen because incorporating "Demon in a Bottle" would've made the most sense after his traumatic events in The Avengers. Fans may still have hope on seeing it, but it's most likely never going to be fully envisioned on the big screen. Maybe a watered-down version, if it ever happens at all.