Jon Favreau has put the record straight with his rumoured involvement in Marvel’s The Avengers movie by saying he is not going to be directing the superhero feature. Speaking to MTV, the Iron Man director said the following:
“They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available. It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”
After this, he divulged a little more on this ensemble picture:
“It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero,” he says. “And then with Avengers you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor. How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.”
At the moment the upcoming Marvel slate looks a little like this: Favreau is putting the finishing touches to Iron Man 2, which is scheduled for release on 07 May 2010; Kenneth Branagh is busy working on Thor for a 20 May 2011 release date; and leader of the pack Captain America is dawdling behind, having not been put into production yet. The Incredible Hulk has been and gone on screens to lukewarm effect, and furthermore, Favreau has shot down claims that Edward Norton will make an appearance in Iron Man 2. With the exception of Norton, all players in the aforementioned movies are locked in to appear as their respective characters in future Marvel projects. But with Captain America still frozen in development hell, and The Hulk wandering around in the wilderness, The Avengers is starting to feel like even more of a distant prospect than ever before.
SciFiNow will bring you more developments on The Avengers in the near future.
