Jenna Ortega on MCU Role: 'All My Lines Removed from Iron Man 3'

Did you catch Jenna Ortega's fleeting cameo in Iron Man 3? It's understandable if you missed it—the scene is incredibly brief. At the tender age of 11, Ortega made her film debut in this 2013 Marvel blockbuster. In her small role, she played the daughter of Vice President Rodriguez, portrayed by Miguel Ferrer. The scene unfolds during a Christmas family gathering where Rodriguez, fresh off a tense phone call with Iron Man, tenderly kisses his daughter on the forehead. The camera then pans down to reveal that Ortega's character is in a wheelchair, having lost a limb.

Fast forward 12 years, and Ortega, now 22 and a star in Netflix's Wednesday and the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, reflected on her MCU stint with Entertainment Weekly. She humorously noted that her part was significantly trimmed down. "I did it once," Ortega said. "It was one of the first jobs I ever did. They took all my lines out. I’m in Iron Man 3 for a quick second. I take up the frame, I have one leg and I’m the vice president’s daughter."

Her Death of a Unicorn co-star Paul Rudd, known for playing Ant-Man in the MCU, playfully suggested that Marvel might have bigger plans for her. "And so it might very well be that you come back," Rudd continued, "that they are going to create something for you, ’cause they should be so lucky to have Jenna Ortega in their franchise."

Ortega, however, cast doubt on the possibility, noting the extent to which her role was minimized. "They even took my name away," she added. "I’m really… but I just… I count that, and then I move on."

Originally, Ortega's role might have been intended as a more substantial subplot, but it was reduced to a fleeting moment in the final cut of Iron Man 3. Given her rise to fame over the subsequent decade, it's intriguing to consider what might happen if Marvel Studios were to offer her a new role in the MCU.

Despite being considered one of the weaker entries in the MCU, Iron Man 3 was a massive commercial success, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing superhero film of all time. It out-earned movies like Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Captain Marvel. The landscape of superhero films has evolved significantly since then, and with Ortega's rising star power, her potential return to the MCU could be a lucrative move for Marvel.