Have you ever wanted to ring in the new year with Tony Stark? Technically speaking, there's actually one way you can: All you need is a copy of Iron Man 3 and some excellent timing.
On the eve of 2019, Robert Downey Jr. took to Twitter to share the specifics, if you're looking to watch the MCU throwback tonight. Take a look:
There ya go! If you start 2013's Iron Man 3 at exactly 11:55 p.m. at the 50 second mark of the minute, Tony Stark will be celebrating the new year at the same time as you are.
However, for Tony Stark, he's celebrating 1999 in the film. It's a flashback sequence in Bern, Switzerland when Tony and Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen are dating and are first approached by Guy Pearce's slick villain Aldrich Killian.
In the scene, in the first few minutes of Iron Man 3, Aldrich Killian stops the couple in an elevator to propose his think tank and Tony tells him to meet him on the roof. If you take part in this "challenge," when the clock strikes midnight the hero will say "Hey, Happy New Year!" with you right after talking research with Maya and being randomly pounced on by Happy.
It's been five years since Iron Man 3 hit theaters in spring of 2013. It was the second highest-grossing movie of the year, right below The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and grossed $409 million domestically and $1.2 billion worldwide. It's currently the fifth highest-earning blockbuster in the MCU under Black Panther and each of the three Avengers films.
Iron Man 3 was received well among critics (CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg gave it an impressive 4.5 stars in his review), however it's still one of the most polarizing MCU films among fans. This is mainly because many were unhappy with the way the legendary villain the Mandarin was handled in it.
If you decide to celebrate with Tony Stark this evening, you'd want to be prepared to stay up past midnight -- a little after 2 a.m., since the movie has a 2 hour and 10-minute runtime.
An alternative MCU New Year challenge involves Avengers: Infinity War and is better timed for the early riser. Just start Infinity War at 9:48 p.m. and 51 seconds and 2019 will start at the exact second of Thanos' snap, per this reply from a fan to his Iron Man 3 tweet.
2019 certainly marks some big moments for the MCU with Avengers: Endgame coming to theaters on April 26, 2019, soon after the studio's first female superhero comes to the screen with Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8. Tom Holland's Peter Parker is also getting a sequel on July 5 with Spider-Man: Far From Home. They are some of the new year's most anticipated films. It really is a Happy New Year for Marvel fans!
