Iron Man 2 Completes Filming

Production on Iron Man 2's principal photography wrapped on Saturday, after 72 days of shooting.

Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige issued a statement to Marvel.com:

Shooting 'Iron Man 2' was a fantastic experience and we couldn't be happier. Although there were many challenges in making this film, having Jon Favreau, Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and almost the entire crew from the first film back on board, allowed us to hit the ground running as everyone was instantly familiar with each other from day one. This dynamic allowed us to get done what we needed on a day to day basis and was a big factor in why we finished slightly ahead of schedule. Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell and especially Don Cheadle all stepped right in and meshed well with our returning cast. From our experience on the first film, we learned what works and doesn't work in terms of shooting practical versus CGI especially with the Iron Man suit. This enabled us to be much more efficient in many departments, making it a much smoother experience." ... "The next step for us is beginning the post production process which is extensive and filled with its own set of challenges. It is also a very exciting time because you get to see all the hard work from the hundreds of cast and crew members begin to come to life.

The most interesting part of Feige's statement is when the producer talks about having to beat the fan's expectations, which are much much higher this time around. This is something we talked about in the 2009 Comic-Con preview video blog.

"What's more difficult in shooting a sequel is that expectations are much higher for this film and we really want to top what we did on the first film. Every day involved working extremely hard in order to improve upon what we did on the first film."

We heard mumblings on Twitter that Favreau was DJing at the wrap party on Sunday night.

Update: Favreau tweeted the following photo:

Less than one week until Comic-Con, a place where two years ago Favreau shocked and won over fans with an early trailer from Iron Man. /Film will be on the scene to give you updates from Hall H.