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.

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'Cowboys & Aliens' Teaser Poster: Nice Chaps

The teaser poster for Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens has gone live, with the early trailer due to follow this coming Wednesday afternoon.  Even without the trailer, the poster makes the film look like an homage to Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, if his Gunslinger had a laser gatling-gun strapped to his arm.

I heard somewhere he looks good in a suit, too.

The film stars the primordial James Bond Daniel Craig as Jake Lonergan, a cowboy with a hazy recollection of his past, or how he got foreign technology bolted to his body.

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Jon Favreau Takes on Disney's 'Magic Kingdom'

There's plenty of evidence to suggest that any well known IP can be turned into a movie (Facebook, Battleship, Marvel/DC).  It's just too easy.  Low cost marketing, a brand that appeals to the masses, and guaranteed ticket sales even for a 'C' rated film.  Of course, Disney has been the master at monetizing their branded characters in every medium possible.  Now, after Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, they will turn Magic Kingdom into a movie.

While we've known they were planning to bring Magic Kingdom to the silver screens, it was announced yesterday that Jon Favreau will not only direct the film, but have a hand in developing the script.

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First Look: Daniel Craig in 'Cowboys & Aliens'

Here's our first look at James Bond, 19th century cowboy. Yep, Daniel Craig replaced Robert Downey, Jr. in Cowboys & Aliens, the upcoming comic book flick directed by Jon Favreau. But it's more than just Favs who is getting this one out; Cowboys & Aliens is co-produced by Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who also wrote the film.

We've got the synopsis below, but it's a pretty exciting prospect, really. Craig playing against type (something he does with tremendous ease and focus, incidentally), along with a hardnosed Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell, both of whom could just show up and I'd be fine with it.

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Favreau Ordering Some Mandarin For 'Iron Man 3'

Where does Iron Man go from here? Exactly where you'd think the series would go, according to director Jon Favreau.

"You've got to do the Mandarin," said Favreau, revealing his vote for the Iron Man 3 villain to MTV. "The problem with the Mandarin is that the way it's depicted in the comic books, you don't want to see that. He has 10 magical rings — that just doesn't feel right for our [franchise]." "So it's either tech-based, or the rings are not really rings. But maybe with Thor and all those others, you'll introduce magic to that world and it won't seem so out of place," Favs added.

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