Making of a Blockbuster: 35 Interesting Behind the Scene Facts of Popular Movies – Part 3

The central villain of Iron Man 3 was originally written as a woman, but it was requested that the character is replaced by a male because the villain’s “toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female."

2. While filming Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, The Muppets creator, Jim Henson (who had hand in developing Yoda), brought Miss Piggy and Kermit to the set. George Lucas jokingly revealed later that he thought of Yoda as, “the illegitimate child of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.”

3. Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark but had to drop out due to his contractual obligation to Magnum PI. Unfortunately, production on the TV show was delayed for over six months, but by that time, the shooting had already begun with Harrison Ford instead.

4. Chadwick Boseman created his own accent for the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, which he based on the regional accents close to where the fictional country of Wakanda should be.

5. Walt Disney did not originally allow women to be trained as animators for his company, though this ban was lifted after most American men had been drafted into World War 2.

Spider-Man spoke more in Captain America: Civil War (47 lines of dialogue) than Superman did in the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (43 lines of dialogue).

7. When initially conceived for the first Star Wars film, lightsabers were going to be the weapon of choice for Han Solo as well as Darth Vader’s Stormtrooper henchmen.

8. J.J. Abrams specifically requested that Rey’s costume in Star Wars: The Force Awakens look simple enough that children could doodle it while sitting in class.

9. Ralph McQuarrie’s final Chewbacca design for Star Wars was inspired by a creature on the cover of a story by George R.R. Martin, who would go on to write the book series on which Game of Thrones is based.

10. Jesse Eisenberg was offered the part of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice after he failed an audition for Jimmy Olsen (a role that was mostly cut from the theatrical version of the film).

Tim Burton listened to Prince’s music constantly while shooting Batman, and said the musician’s songs had a major influence on the creation of the film’s version of the Joker. Prince eventually wrote songs for the film, but Burton reportedly hated them and only used them because he was contractually obliged.

12. The “Ghostface" mask worn by the killers of the Scream film series was discovered in an abandoned house during location scouting for the film.

13. Early into the production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Starkiller Base was going to be called The Doom Star.

14. The music used during the Slow-Mo scene of the 2012 film Dredd was based on a Justin Bieber song slowed down by 800%.

15. Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe didn’t mime his scream upon seeing Sirius Black killed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The sound was cut in post-production because it was determined to be too agonizing.

A Black Widow film was nearly made by Lionsgate in 2004, wherein Natasha would’ve gained superpowers from an experimental “Widow suit,” and she would’ve had a secret identity as a professional gardener.

17. Prior to the critical and box office failures of the 2015 Fantastic Four film, 20th Century Fox was planning a shared universe crossover film between the X-Men franchise and the Fantastic Four.

18. David S. Goyer, who co-wrote the 2016 movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, claimed in 2005 that writing a Superman vs. Batman story is what a studio turns to when they have “exhausted all possibilities… It’s somewhat of an admission that this franchise is on its last gasp.”

19. The forest moon setting of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was named “Endor,“ which is one of the elvish language translations of "Middle-earth”, as a tribute to the influence that The Lord of the Rings series had on Star Wars.

20. A survey carried out by Fandango showed that the introduction of Wonder Woman on screen was the primary draw for 88% of the moviegoers the week before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released.

Ben Affleck was among Disney’s top contenders to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

22. The original costume designed for Psylocke in the film X-Men: Apocalypse was black, but actress Olivia Munn demanded it be changed to purple so it would fit more in line with the comics.

23. While not included in any dialogue, Joss Whedon’s script for The Avengers has 11 instances of the word “sh*t” and 19 uses of “f*ck,” including lines like, “IRON MAN stands up, looking around like `holy sh*t,‘” and "THOR LEAPS HIGH INTO THE AIR, RAISING THAT F*CKING HAMMER.”

24. About 480 hours of footage was shot for Mad Max: Fury Road. That’s equivalent to nearly three straight weeks of footage.

25. The two volcanoes in the Pixar short Lava were based on the late Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and his wife Marlene, while the style of music used in the short is heavily inspired by his cover of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”.