Robert Downey Jr's new "Iron Man 3" had to be completely re-written after studio bosses decided to scrap any mention of the superhero's battle with alcoholism.
Downey Jr has reprised his role as Tony Stark in the third instalment of the franchise, and director Shane Black has revealed the first draft of the script included the comic book character's most famous storyline - his battle with booze.
However, bosses at the movie studio behind the film, ordered them to rewrite the script and avoid references to Stark's problems with addiction, reported Contactmusic.
"I think we were just told by the studio 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... stuff of him being an alcoholic wouldn't really fly," Black said.
The movie's screenwriter Drew Pearce adds, "In our first draft Tony was a bit more rock 'n' roll. It's kind of a 'pick your battles' thing; alcoholism is a massive problem but it's also not the best villain for a movie."
However, Black fears the character's drinking in the film may still upset some critics even though he only guzzles "one glass of wine".
The character's addiction storyline would have been particularly poignant for the franchise's star Downey Jr, who has battled real life drink and drug problems of his own in the past.
