Iron Man has become the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to receive the honor of being inducted into the National Film Registry. The American National Film Registry is a project created by the Library of Congress in which every year up to 25 American films that are deemed to be of historical or artistic significance are honored and preserved for future generations. Films must be over 10 years old to be eligible for this particular honor, and previous inductees include everything from 12 Angry Men to Star Wars.
Today, the the National Film Registry. The list, which also includes films like When Harry Met Sally..., House Party, Super Fly, and Hairspray, features 2008's Iron Man, one of only six MCU films that are currently eligible. The film received a huge amount of public through online nominations that influenced the librarian's selection process.
Will There Ever Be Any More MCU Titles in the National Film Registry?
As time goes by, more and more MCU films will become eligible for induction into the National Film Registry. However, the wide-ranging franchise has few films that are as widely revered as Iron Man by critics and fans alike. The Registry also has a habit of not including very many sequels, with The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Godfather Part II being among the only such films to be inducted.
Considering the fact that the MCU is an overarching franchise consisting of several sub-franchises that begin with other films that might not necessarily be considered "sequels" to Iron Man, it might be possible for some to avoid this stigma. Films that would be eligible under those considerations would include Captain America: The First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Probably the most likely film in that category to get inducted is the original Black Panther, which is still the only MCU film to have ever been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, though it wouldn't be eligible until 2028.
Iron Man was largely selected as significant because of the massive ways that the franchise it spawned changed the face of American pop culture and the economy of Hollywood. While many of those films that it spawned might be viewed as less significant on an artistic level by certain pundits, there are other films in the franchise that would qualify as being equally significant on a cultural level. The MCU's crossover films, particularly the first 2012 Avengers movie and the record shattering Avengers: Endgame would be the most likely suspects to earn this kind of distinction.
Source: Library of Congress
