Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Unlike its predecessor, which mixed digital and practical effects, the sequel primarily relied on computer-generated imagery to create the Iron Man suits.

Iron Man 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on April 26, 2010, and was released in the United States on May 7, as part of Phase One of the MCU.

Stark learns that the palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps him alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he is unable to find a substitute.

Stark competes in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, where he is attacked in the middle of the race by Vanko, who wields electrified whips powered by his arc reactor.

[52] Favreau's son Max appears as a child wearing an Iron Man mask whom Stark saves from a drone.

After a meeting between Favreau and various comic book writers, including Mark Millar, Stane became the main villain in Iron Man.

[58] While promoting the first film, Downey stated that Stark would probably develop a drinking problem as he is unable to cope with his age, the effects of revealing he is Iron Man, and Pepper getting a boyfriend.

[60] The storyline was ultimately downplayed for the film, as studio executives were concerned with how an alcoholic Iron Man would be perceived in marketing and affect merchandise sales.

[61] Shane Black gave some advice on the script, and suggested to Favreau and Downey that they model Stark on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.

[59] An early version for the film's story involved Justin Hammer creating different villains in addition to Whiplash, like Ghost, but the idea was discarded.

[62] After the commercial success of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios began developing a sequel, with an intended release date of April 30, 2010.

[66] Genndy Tartakovsky storyboarded the film,[67] and Adi Granov returned to supervise the designs for Iron Man's armor.

As Favreau and Theroux chose to reduce the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss lowering his salary—Howard was the first actor hired in Iron Man and was paid the largest salary.

[66] In November 2013, Howard stated that, going into the film, the studio offered him far less than was in his three-picture contract, claiming they told him the second will be successful, "with or without you," and, without mentioning him by name, said Downey "took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.

[43] Marvel entered into early talks with Emily Blunt to play the Black Widow,[73] though she was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels (2010).

[74] Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that he had been in discussions to reprise the role of Nick Fury from the first film's post-credits scene, but that contract disputes were making a deal difficult.

[82] The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco action sequence was shot in the parking lot of Downey Studios, with sets constructed in May[83] and filming lasting through June.

[86] A massive green screen was constructed at the Sepulveda Dam to film a portion of the Stark Expo exterior, with the rest either shot at an area high school or added digitally.

[61] Speaking to the "Demon in the Bottle" elements in the film, Theroux noted how Stark is shown drinking and out of control, becoming a "self-destructive ticking clock", stating that his palladium illness served as a substitute metaphor for "a man who's running out of steam and needs his friends to step up".

[101] Promotional partners included Symantec, Dr Pepper, Burger King, 7 Eleven, Audi, LG Electronics[102] and Hershey.

[120] The international release date of the film was moved forward to increase interest ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup association football tournament.

[119] It was the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2010 internationally, behind Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Inception, Shrek Forever After, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

The website's critical consensus reads, "It isn't quite the breath of fresh air that Iron Man was, but this sequel comes close with solid performances and an action-packed plot.

[128] Brian Lowry of Variety stated, "Iron Man 2 isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do".

[50] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said, "To find a comic-book hero who doesn't agonize over his supergifts, and would defend his constitutional right to get a kick out of them, is frankly a relief".

[134] David Edelstein of New York Magazine wrote, "It doesn't come close to the emotional heft of those two rare 2s that outclassed their ones: Superman II and Spider-Man 2.

[135] Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4, stating, "Iron Man 2 is a polished, high-octane sequel, not as good as the original but building once again on a quirky performance by Robert Downey Jr".

"[137] Conversely, Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel.

In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines.