Iron Man is a city.
Gwyneth Paltrow . Since 2008 , Paltrow has portrayed Pepper Potts , the female lead of the Iron Man franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , in Iron Man ( 2008 ) , Iron Man 2 ( 2010 ) , The Avengers ( 2012 ) , and Iron Man 3 ( 2013 ) . Iron Man (2008 film) . 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 . 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 .