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'Iron Man 2' Zeroes In On New Writer
We all know that
Iron Man 2 is on the way - hell, we kind of
knew that before the first
Iron Man hit theaters - so I'm a little puzzled
that the band is already being broken up a bit. Instead of bringing
screenwriting duos Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway,
The Hollywood Reporter says that
actor-writer
Justin Theroux is taking over the script for
the sequel.
Though you probably don't know his work in front of the
camera as well if at all, you'll soon be slapped in the face by a steady stream
of Theroux; he's a producer and co-writer of
Tropic Thunder, which hits theaters on
Wednesday, August 13th.
We know
Robert Downey will be back (he had a sequel
clause in his first contract, so this was never open to discussion), and we
heard last week that Marvel and
Jon Favreau have agreed in principle to terms
that will bring the director back for another film.
But I can't help thinking that the transition between
the first and second films should have gone more smoothly. Favreau has already
moaned about not having enough time to get the second film ready in under two
years (which might not be the strongest argument, really, when a Transformers
sequel can do it). There is validity behind what he's saying, however, and it's
a tone that says Marvel should have been a little quicker to act and a little
more on point this summer prepping the next movie instead of basking in its own
glory and announcing a slate of films for the next three or four years.
Nothing against Justin Theroux, but Tropic Thunder
is his first screenplay to make it into theaters, and he co-wrote it with Ben
Stiller...who had the original idea 20 years ago, and has written plenty of
things over the years. It just seems like it makes more sense to work with some
of the writers who crafted a screenplay mainstream audiences really enjoyed and
comic book fans praised for its accuracy. And for anyone who automatically
assumes this sequel will be fine and a change at the most important creative
position doesn't mean anything, look how quickly the Spider-Man franchise
turned ugly between its second and third installments.
I'm a big believer in the notion that if you can make a
better movie, do it. Sounds practical to me. If Marvel thinks this is the way to
do that, great, but if it's not...
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 12:23AM
by
Colin Boyd
in Sequels, Comic Book Movies, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau
|
2 Comments
Colin Boyd
in Sequels, Comic Book Movies, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau
|
2 Comments
Reader Comments (2)
Iron Man 1 was a completely formulaic script with every bit of the story telegraphed beforehand (and this from someone who hasn't read an Iron Man comic in 20 years). A change of writers can only be a good thing.
Marvel struck gold with Iron Man but they have no idea how they got it. It's like they just got the keys to a new Tesla Roadster that they have no idea how to drive...
Favreau is a developing director, and much better than I think the studio realized. But this series is progressing alot like the original Star Wars or Superman movies did in that they imagined having a sequel would be nice, but there wasn't really a roadmap for one.
With those other series though, the sequels were arguably better than the original and each of them had fundamental creative changes take place between movie 1 and movie 2.
So relax a little bit people...Iron Man will be ok!