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Thursday
02Oct2008

Jon Favreau Talks 'Iron Man' Sequel: Booze, Villains, and More

DateThursday, October 2, 2008 at 12:54AM
Jon Favreau recently held a live online chat moderated by The Los Angeles Times. As you might suspect, those asking questions were less interested in Made and Fav's upcoming bit part in buddy Vince Vaughn's Four Christmases and more interested in the sequel to Iron Man.

Refreshingly, Favreau didn't actually dodge the questions. Some of the answers are ambiguous, but some seem to drop fairly strong hints about the direction of the franchise. As for where the story is headed in the second chapter, the director says, "The sequel is shaping up to incorporate Tony's vision for the future. What happens after he says 'I am Iron Man?'"

On its own, that doesn't mean much. Nor does the admission that he's working with screenwriter Justin Theroux, who's going through the first draft of the screenplay, as well as storyboard artists and costume designers. That just tells us the basics.

What about specific characters we might see next time? 

"Mandarin is still an important figure in the Iron Man universe," admits Favreau. "We have an interesting take on him that allows us to incorporate the whole pantheon of villains. The whole 10 Rings thing in Iron Man was a good tease for it."

A-ha! So it's Mandarin? He's the villain?

Well, Favreau doesn't come right out and say that, but he also doesn't mention any other villains in the same breath or at all, at least not by name. Make of that what you will.

Favreau also conditionally confirms that we'll see more of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in the sequel and that eventually, more demons in the closet of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) will be explored. By that, of course, we mean his alcoholism. We even got a pretty excited answer to whether or not Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) will become War Machine sooner than later.

"We need War Machine...Shoulder cannons and all."

There was also a little bit of discussion about the changing face of comic book movies, with Favreau acknowledging that The Dark Knight adds legitimacy to the genre, calling the film "a cultural event." But is he OK existing in the shadows of that behemoth? "DK took the spotlight off us. I would be happy to be Pepsi to their Coke for the next ten years," Favreau said.

"The choice of a new generation!"

You can get a few more details - including what other actor Favreau would have liked to direct in the role of Tony Stark - by reading the Times chat, which is conveniently archived for posterity. And you can now pick it up on DVD.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Mmmm.. Shoulder Canons

Thursday, October 2, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterOrinn

Dude....What the hell. In Iron Man 2, War Machine will be played by f#cken Don Cheadle and not the original character that Terrence Howard played.

Please Jon Favreau, dont mess up one of your best movies by changing the character. Terrance played a spectacular role as James Rhodes. He is a great actor and must be given the opportunity to play War Machine

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterConcerned fan

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