….
The first schedule of [Iron Man] completed successfully and the team is currently in prep for two days, before they dive back into filming.
Regal sat in a Unique FX conference room that felt aggressively cheerful.
However, this meeting wasn't about [Iron Man] VFX's.
Concept art covered the walls - dragons, ogres, talking animals in various states of development.
Leo Woert and David Scott sat across from him, flanked by two animation directors whose names Regal had already forgotten.
On the table between them: a bound script titled [Kung Fu Panda], a portfolio of character designs, and several storyboards that Regal had spent the last three months developing between [Spider-Man] post-production and [Iron Man] pre-production.
"Let me get this straight." Leo said, flipping through the designs with poorly concealed amusement. "You want us to step into the feature animation industry now. And with a film about an overweight panda who becomes a kung fu master. In China. With talking animals."
Unique FX wasn't the same modest VFX studio it had been during [Following], when their journey first began. No - now it stood at the very top, the industry's gold standard. Four years had changed everything, driven entirely by one man's relentless ambition. The years of struggle that came before were still remembered with respect, but this… this was the next evolution.
A year ago, they had already begun planning their expansion into animation. They had dabbled in it before - briefly, in a few ad gigs, and even in a few promotional poster material of [Harry Potter] and [Spider-Man].
But a fully animated feature film? That was a whole new frontier.
"That's the premise, yes." Regal said calmly.
"And you are not directing it."
The slight disappointment in Leo's tone wasn't easy to ignore.
"Correct. I don't have the time or, frankly, the technical knowledge for animation at this level. That's why I am here."
David studied the character design for Po - the panda in question.
Round, expressive, earnest.
The design was specific enough to convey personality but loose enough to allow for animation flexibility.
"These designs are remarkably detailed." one of the directors - new person, maybe? Said, holding up a sketch of Master Shifu. "You have already figured out the silhouette language, the shape theory. This is half the battle for character animation."
"That was intentional." Regal said. "Character design in animation is the most time-consuming part of development. Trial and error, endless iterations, design committees arguing about whisker placement. I wanted to shortcut that process."
"By doing it yourself?"
Leo burst out laughing. "Sorry - he is new, so it's no surprise he's surprised." He clapped Mark on the shoulder. "You will get used to it soon. Very talented guy, Mark, but he hasn't experienced the full Regal treatment yet."
Regal just nodded his head and pulled out another folder. "Storyboards for the first fifteen minutes. The opening dream sequence, the noodle shop, Po's relationship with his father. The comedic beats, the emotional anchors. It's all mapped."
He spread them across the table.
Mark's eyes widened. These weren't rough sketches or loose concepts. These were production-ready boards with camera angles, composition, timing notes, even suggestions for music cues.
"This is..." Mark looked up, slightly overwhelmed. "This is more detailed than most final animatics I have seen."
David grinned. "See? Surprises keep coming."
The second director - Jennifer, spread the storyboards across the table. "This is... comprehensive. Most pitches we get are a script and some loose concept art. You've practically pre-visualized the entire first act."
"Because I can't be here for the day-to-day production. I will be shooting [Iron Man], then moving into post, then prep for the next project. If I am going to hand this off, I need to make sure whoever directs it understands the vision completely."
David leaned back. "And what is the vision, exactly? Besides 'fat panda does kung fu.'"
Regal said simply. "Po is a character everyone underestimates, including himself. He doesn't look like a hero. He doesn't act like a hero. He loves food and comfort and his father's noodle shop. But underneath that, there's something extraordinary waiting to be unlocked. The film is about believing you can be more than what everyone, including yourself, expects."
The room was quiet for a moment.
Mark picked up the script, flipping to a marked page. "The scene where Po tells his father he doesn't want to run the noodle shop. That's... surprisingly emotional for a kids' movie."
"It's not a kids' movie. It's a family film. There is a difference." Regal pulled out another sketch - Po and Mr. Ping in the noodle shop, the composition emphasizing the distance between them despite the cramped space. "Children will love action and comedy. Adults will recognize the story of disappointing your parents to pursue your own dreams. Both audiences need to be served."
Katzenberg was reading the script now, actually reading it, not just skimming. "The Furious Five. Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper, Mantis. You have given them distinct personalities despite limited screen time."
"They are not just background characters. Each represents a different martial arts philosophy, a different kind of strength. Tigress is power and discipline. Monkey is playfulness and adaptability. Viper is grace and precision." Regal pointed to their character sheets. "The designs reflect those philosophies. Shape language, color theory, movement style - it all serves character."
Leo tapped the Po design thoughtfully. "What's the climax? How does he defeat Tai Lung?"
"By being exactly who he is." Regal said. "Not by learning some secret technique or unlocking hidden power. By fighting in a way only Po can fight - using his weight, his love of food, his unconventional thinking. The Dragon Scroll that everyone thinks contains the secret to unlimited power? It's blank. It's a mirror. The message is that the power was inside you all along - but Po interprets that literally. He realizes his strength comes from being himself, not trying to be Shifu or Tigress or anyone else."
For a moment, silence filled the room. The explanation sank in deeper than any pitch deck could.
"That's… a surprisingly simple but satisfying end." Mark finally breathed, his eyes lighting up.
Regal nodded. "It's also thematically complete. Every scene builds toward that realization. Po's so-called 'failures' throughout the story are really him resisting who he is. The climax works because he stops fighting against himself and starts fighting as himself."
David leaned back in his chair, a faint grin spreading across his face. "Okay." he said, looking around the room. "What's there to even discuss now? We are obviously doing this."
Right. There was never a question about whether to do it or not.
It was how to do it.
They knew assembling a team from scratch specialising in 3D modeling, and to help them get into a rhythm with their plans was gonna be a long task.
But it didn't matter.
If the first step was planned and careful, even if it were to take more time, it is worth it in the end.
….
Two days later.
Back at the [Iron Man] set, Emma, an AD, found him reviewing dailies from the morning shoot.
"How did the Unique FX meeting go?"
"Well enough. Now it's just a matter of finding the right directors." Regal fast-forwarded through a take. "How is the cave set coming?"
"They are right on time." She sat beside him.
"Hmm, moving on… the post-credits scene for [Iron Man]. When are we Re-shooting it?"
For Regal's technical team and support staff, the term itself felt foreign.
They had worked under him for years now, and if there was one thing his reputation was built on, it was clarity.
Regal's sets ran on heavy pre-visualization and meticulous pre-production, every frame was planned, discussed, locked down before a single camera rolled. Wasted film was sacrilege.
And yet, here they were - unloading cameras, adjusting lighting rigs, prepping sound stages for a sequence that had already been shot months ago.
The infamous post-credits scene from [Spider-Man: Web of Destiny]. The one where Tony Stark steps in front of the media and announces to the world: "I am Iron Man."
The scene would eventually appear in the first [Iron Man] film, but not as a post-credits stinger. It would be integrated into the main narrative, which meant it needed proper coverage, proper performances, proper everything.
The problem? When they had shot it for [Spider-Man], the main [Iron Man] cast hadn't been finalized beyond RDJ.
No Pepper, Happy, or even Nick Fury.
It wasn't time for auditions while trying to meet [Spider-Man]'s release deadline.
So Regal had solved it the only way he could - filmed the scene entirely from Pepper's POV, keeping the focus tight on Tony Stark and the press corps.
Thirty seconds.
Most audiences hadn't even noticed the creative framing.
But it wouldn't work for the actual [Iron Man] film.
Not with a full two-hour runtime building toward that moment.
So now they were back in Los Angeles, re-lighting a smaller set dressed to resemble a press conference room, with the full cast finally assembled.
"Feels strange, doesn't it?" Simon muttered from behind the monitor, not quite hiding his grin. "Regal paying for a reshoot, never thought I would see the day."
Andrew, leaning against a grip stand, didn't bother hiding his amusement. "What's next? Test screenings?"
Regal ignored them, watching RDJ get touched up by makeup across the room.
He didn't mind the ribbing. Let them have their fun.
What they didn't understand yet, what nobody understood yet, was what these small post-credits scenes were actually building toward.
The architecture of something much larger.
[Iron Man] would have its own post-credits scene, of course.
Nick Fury met Spider-Man while simultaneously on a call with Tony Stark.
The first real step toward connecting everything.
But unlike [Spider-Man], Regal hadn't included that scene in any script.
Not even the shooting script.
The words "Iron Man" "Spider-Man" and "Nick Fury" appearing in the same scene couldn't leak.
Only a handful of crew members would even be present for filming.
He was still annoyed about the RDJ casting leak from [Spider-Man], even if the actual role had remained secret. That wouldn't happen again.
In fact, Regal had made a decision: all preview screenings of [Iron Man], including those for critics, would not include the post-credits scene.
It would be something made exclusively for opening night audiences.
For the fans.
If someone had overheard him explaining this plan, they would think he was launching a space program, not making a film.
Even after laying out the full vision, the Cinematic Universe concept, the structure, the long-term planning, to Andrew, Simon, Stan Lee, and a few others, all they could see was an idea.
A theory.
None of them truly grasped how successful [Iron Man] would be, or that it would genuinely launch a Marvel Cinematic Universe in earnest.
Regal didn't blame them. He just needed to show them.
But right now? Right now it was just a reshoot, and his friends finally had ammunition.
And with that, the cameras rolled again.
Across the set, RDJ stood at a podium surrounded by fake reporters, index cards in hand. He looked up, caught Regal's eye, and gave him a small salute.
Then he leaned into the microphone and delivered the line that would change everything.
"I am Iron Man."
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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