Jon Favreau NOT Directing 'Iron Man 3'

In sad, but not surprising news, today Deadline confirmed director Jon Favreau will NOT be returning to direct Iron Man 3.  According to the report, Favreau, who just wrapped on Cowboys & Aliens and is ready to start work on Disney's Magic Kingdom, was seeking a higher salary for the third installment than Marvel wanted to dish out. Combine that to the creative control issues he had with the studio on Iron Man 2 and voila, directoro disappearo!

Hit the jump for more and what this means for the franchise.

It's no secret that Favs wasn't happy with the amount of tinkering Marvel did to Iron Man 2's story to set up The Avengers.  And, it was just last week he talked about how the studio wanted Iron Man 3 to act as a pseudo sequel to the superhero team-up, so I can only imagine the creative battle that would have ensued between Favs and the studio if he were to stay on for 3.  What could have swayed the director to deal with these issues was the almighty dollar, but once again it's no secret Marvel is pretty tight with the purse strings.  So there really was no reason for Favs to stay in this franchise.

Favreau issued a statement saying that he "is excited about the opportunity to go do his own thing", while Kevin Feige, executive at Marvel Studios and architect behind The Avengers initiative, said he "sees [Favreau's departure] as an opportunity to bring some more fire to the franchise."

I take a little issue with Feige's statement because, after seeing Favreau at two separate Comic-Cons showing off footage from this franchise, Favs seemed to be the most excited person in the room.  Iron Man 2 was a big disappointment, there's no ifs ands or buts.  That being said, it wasn't Favs' fault.  The downfall came in the form of the script and Marvel's cramming of excess story.  If Favreau were to come back for Iron Man 3 I'm positive he would have come back with more "fire" than before to prove the naysayers wrong and get the franchise back on track.  Plus, it would have been cool to see what he did with The Mandarin (early reports have him as the villain for 3 but this is likely to change).

Favreau will stay on as an Executive Producer for The Avengers, but will likely cut his ties with Marvel soon after (and I really doubt he'll be reprising his role as Tony Stark's bodyguard).  It is important to note that Robert Downey Jr has final director approval written into his ironclad contract (ah, the Hollywood star system) so it's not likely Iron Man 3 will be directed by some slouch.  But at the same time, the studio is going to be looking for someone they can get on the cheap and won't put up much of a fight as they continue to tinker with the creative trajectory of the film.  It will definitely be interesting to see who ends up on the shortlist to direct this film.

Iron Man 3 is still set for a May 3, 2013 release.

Comments

[J.Bradley]

It sounds like that what this means is that "The Avengers" will really be "Iron Man 3" and that whatever happens with the Iron Man movie that comes after that depends on how well "The Avengers" is received. Sounds to me like Favreau just didn't want to make an Avengers sequel. He's not going to be able to make HIS Iron Man movie, and continue that franchise because whatever happens next, cinematically, with the character, is going to be laid out in the that Avengers movie.

[Chris]

too bad... he really put some great energy in the IM movies.

[nickro]

"Iron Man 2 was a big disappointment, there's no ifs ands or buts"
You critics think that your opinion is everything don't you. I thought Iron Man 2 was pretty good and in my humble opinion better than the first one. That being said I don't see the next one being all that great. I'd like to know though what in your opinion you think was so bad about the second one besides the fact that they threw in some ties to The Avengers movie.