Jenna Ortega Jokes About Tiny MCU Role in Iron Man 3: 'They Took All My Lines Out'

Did you catch Jenna Ortega's fleeting appearance in Iron Man 3? It's easy to miss; a quick scene featuring a very young Ortega in a wheelchair. The now 22-year-old star of Netflix's Wednesday and the upcoming Beetlejuice 2 made her film debut at age 11 in the 2013 Marvel film. Her brief MCU cameo shows Miguel Ferrer's Vice President Rodriguez kissing his daughter on the forehead during a Christmas scene. The camera then pans down to reveal his daughter, played by Ortega, is wheelchair-bound due to an amputated limb.

Twelve years later, Ortega jokingly reflected on her Iron Man 3 experience with Entertainment Weekly, mentioning how Marvel significantly cut her role. "I did it once," she 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 (Ant-Man), playfully suggested Marvel might create a role for her, adding, "’cause they should be so lucky to have Jenna Ortega in their franchise."

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Ortega added, with a touch of self-deprecating humor, "They even took my name away...I just...I count that, and then I move on." Her role, initially perhaps a larger subplot, was ultimately minimized in the final cut. This early role, however, paved the way for her current phenomenal success. A future MCU role for Ortega wouldn't be surprising.

While Iron Man 3 is considered one of the weaker MCU entries, it was a box office triumph, grossing over $1.2 billion globally. It remains the ninth highest-grossing superhero film of all time, surpassing films like Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Captain Marvel. The MCU landscape was vastly different then; superhero films today face greater challenges in achieving similar box office success. A return by Ortega could potentially boost future MCU projects.

The question remains: which character would be the perfect fit for her?