Jon Favreau, director of the first two Iron Man films, has confirmed he will not be directing Iron Man 3 for Marvel Studios.
He will instead be helming Magic Kingdom for Disney, Marvel Entertainment's parent company. And, yeah, I know the "hurls into the sun" bit is a reference to the Sentry, not Iron Man — but, hey, they're both from the Marvel Universe.
In an interview with Hero Complex, Favreau portrayed his exit from the franchise as a graduation rather than a breakup. According to Favreau, "Marvel and I both came of age together . . . The years that we shared were a pivotal experience . . . I look forward to seeing what others can do playing in the same world." (In other words, it's not you; it's me.) Favreau did say he'll be producing Marvel's upcoming Avengers film in 2012. There's been no word on the news from Robert Downey Jr., who has director approval for Iron Man 3.
Magic Kingdom, a family-friendly flick in the mold of Night at the Museum, is a return to the realm of fantasy that Favreau first visited in 2005's unsuccessful Zathura: A Space Adventure. But Favreau has since honed his directorial and money-making skills on the Iron Man flicks, which have been reported to have earned more than $1 billion. I'm sure Marvel's parent noticed what Favreau was doing for its subsidiary and figured he might be the key to raising the flagging fortunes of Disney, whose profits declined 7 percent during the last three months of its fiscal year.
I'm sad to see Favreau exit what has become one of the better superhero franchises so far. With the Batman franchise, Christopher Nolan has made smart comic book flicks. But with the Iron Man franchise, Favreau has made smart, fun comic book flicks. Oh well. Good luck, Jon. I miss the fun already.
