20 stunning Christmas movies starring your favorite Marvel actors
By Reed Gaudens
‘Tis the season for holiday movies including these 20 Christmas movies starring your favorite Marvel stars!
Let’s be honest: Not everyone enjoys watching Christmas movies, which is understandable.
They can be overly emotional, and sometimes predictable, in their attempts to get us in the holiday spirit. While that’s a quality some find appealing in their annual Christmas film festival, other’s aren’t totally on board to rub elbows with Santa Claus. But what if those holiday movies starred your favorite actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
From cult favorite comedies to widely adored romantic comedies, animated essentials to musical adventures, and everything in between, some of Marvel’s best alumni have starred in the biggest and most underrated holiday movies.
These movies might not have superheroes saving the world, but the actors behind the suits and capes can certainly save your holidays with a little cheer. Here are 20 Christmas movies to watch starring 20 of your favorite stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
20. The cast of Iron Man 3 in Iron Man 3
Release Year: 2013
Directed By: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ty Simpkins, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, Paul Bettany
Even though Marvel movies frequently hit theaters in the summertime, they aren’t always set during the summer months. That’s especially true for Iron Man 3, which was released in early May but takes place around Christmastime.
Of course, the superhero sequel isn’t your traditional Christmas movie full of cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, and candy canes. But it has been officially confirmed that Iron Man 3 can be categorized as a Christmas movie for its setting, sure, but also its themes that give it that quintessential holiday movie feel.
Iron Man 3 picks up in the aftermath of The Avengers and finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) struggling to come to terms with what has happened post-battle. When he takes on the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), Tony grapples with what he’s lost and trusts his instincts in order to protect himself and the people he cares for.
The film earned mostly positive reception from critics and continued Marvel’s box office domination with an over $1 billion gross worldwide. But who knew Iron Man 3′s biggest feat would be sneaking its way into our holiday movie marathon lineup?