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Jon Favreau Not 100% Signed for Iron Man 2?

by Alex Billington
May 15, 2008
Source: SlashFilm

When Marvel officially announced Iron Man 2 for 2010 a few weeks ago, it was easily one of the most exciting news announcements made in a while. Almost everyone walked out of Iron Man wondering when we would see a sequel, because the potential for Iron Man kick even more ass is immense. Now that a date was set, we all sat back naturally thinking Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. and the whole crew would be back again. Unfortunately, at least for the moment, that doesn't seem to be the case. Ever since the announcement was made, Jon Favreau has been making it clear that he's not exactly 100% signed on for the sequel... yet.

Favreau first told EW.com in an interview after the release of Iron Man that, "there's no formal arrangement yet, but in theory we would all love to see it happen..." Now SlashFilm follows that up with more confirmation as of Tuesday this week. Favreau made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show, and told Howard that, "they haven't offered me anything yet," adding that "they're all talking - they want to do it, they even announced a date." So if you want to actually speak about this in terms of technicalities, no, Jon Favreau has not been signed to direct anything yet.

However, this just sounds like a classic case of Hollywood shifting before saying it's a done deal for four more years. Favreau will most likely be back on board, but they have to come back to him and sign him yet again. On Howard Stern, Favreau also revealed that Iron Man was probably made for around $140 million and his own cut was a mere $4 million. He only starts to make a small percentage more when the film begins to make a profit, which in Hollywood, is almost never. He explains that when a film is this successful, even the actors don't necessarily have to come back even if they've signed contracts.

"They're all signed for three but it doesn't work that way. That all goes out the window when you make $100 million dollars," said Favreau. "Because people want to have a good relationship with the people they are working with, and if they're making that kind of money, it's an understanding that they're going to negotiate."

That makes quite a bit of sense, but since most of us don't get paid in the millions for our jobs, we can't relate to the idea of negotiation on that level. However, I think it's important to clarify that although Favreau does confirm that he isn't signed on, it doesn't mean Marvel has lost their marbles and isn't going to bring anyone back. They're much smarter than that, I just think Favreau is a little more public than anyone ever before. As in, Hollywood folk usually keep these sort of things to themselves when a sequel is announced. And we only hear about it months later when all the contracts have been signed again. Favreau just prefers to connect with the fans so much that we sometimes hear more than we maybe should.

So there you have it. Don't start flipping out and calling your friends and bitching out Marvel for being idiots just yet. Iron Man 2 won't even hit theaters until April 30th, 2010, which means they wouldn't need to start production until 2009. I'm willing to bet that not only will Jon Favreau be back on Iron Man 2, but so will Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, and Gwyneth Paltrow. This is going to be the sequel we want, but early details like this are just seeping out way too early. All we need to think about fans is how awesome Iron Man 2 will be and how excited we should get when they finally do announced the details for the sequel!

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15 Comments

Whatever. He'll be back. And his kids'll ALL be going to private schools, from here on out. Even Marvel knows you need a good director who's familiar w/ the material to keep a good thing going. Of course, as a director he'll weigh his options and those include non-Marvel films he undoubtedly wants to make. If the date gets pushed back, so be it. But he'll be back for the right price. Go Favreau!

Djo. on May 15, 2008

Oh, what a shame if Favreau doesn't come back. It's not like they couldn't replace him in four minutes. "According to Jim" is more distinctively directed.

Andrew Wickliffe on May 15, 2008

Yes this is true, coming down to reality is more like it. I dont see Iron man being made by anyone else. Its still fresh in Favreaus mind so to put him were the first left off would only make sense right...

therblig on May 15, 2008

Yeah, OF COURSE they will ask for more if it is a huge hit. Shia LaBeouf made only $500,000 on TRANSFORMERS. With that and Indy I am SURE he will make quite a pretty penny more.

Ryan on May 15, 2008

See kids, this is when greed steps in. I'd be perfectly fine with making $4 million dollars for a movie because thats how much my dad makes in 40 years! It should really be about making the movie, not about making money, the studios are there to make money and thats why we get movies like Baby Mama and What Happens in Vegas, but real directors should be there to make either award winning films or fun summer popcorn movies.

Kail on May 15, 2008

Hence: Favreau, fun popcorn movies, brings dough in for the studio, works his ass off= los ninos Faveausos get to go to private schools. Ain't no harm in fair pay. Would be nice if Marvel ok'd it w/ him before setting the release date, though. As a director I'd feel pretty pissed if my reward for producing a hit were- "Great! Thanks! Here's your next deadline. If you don't jump on, we'll get someone else." If Favreau and Downey walk in together for meetings concerning the sequel, no one can touch them. (Maybe that's what Marvel's scared of... but what really? That these guys'll make Tony Stark EVEN COOLER than the Hasselhoff-looking wheelchair drunkard he's been in their books? Puh-lease.)

Djo on May 15, 2008

TO: MARVEL FROM: ME! I will sign on to direct Iron Man 2 for $400,000. Total. Yes, that is $3,600,000 less than what you had to pay Jon... whatever the heck his last name is. I don't need anything else but a comfy director's chair, and General Tso's Chicken from the nearest Chinese place every day for lunch. Oh, oh, and maybe some of that sparkly water stuff in the little green bottles. That's it. Send me the paper work. Thanks.

Art on May 15, 2008

Favreau didn't bring a lot of visual panache to Iron Man - it was more of a workhorse in the sense that "A" leads to "B" and "B" leads to "C". It was competent, not stylish. No one will confuse Favreau with an auteur, so there's no reason he couldn't be easily replaced. Look at the Harry Potter movies, for example. A different director for nearly every film and the box office receipts grow and grow and grow. With that said, I am not anti-Favreau. Point of fact, he did a lot of things right. Specifically, opening up the doors to the fan community and taking their suggestions. I believe a lot of the film's casting was influenced by this discussion. More than certainly Iron Man fans directed him toward Adi Granov, the digital illustrator who spearheaded the film's armor design. Favreau is a very effective collaborator. Why rock the boat?

Tom Brazelton on May 15, 2008

Favreau did a great job directing Iron Man so I'm sure Marvel would like him to come back. It's just business and negotiation, nothing strange here.

Andreas Climent on May 15, 2008

hey if there is no jon favreau, iron man is going to suck

Darrin on May 16, 2008

"It should really be about making the movie, not about making money" Easy to say when it's not your money.

Joel on May 16, 2008

I haven't even had the chance to see Iron Man yet and I'm gonna be sorely pissed if Favreau doesn't come back. But I'm sure they all will. Seeing Iron Man tonight for the first time. Tell me..is it good or am I just gonna be bummed?

Garrett.king on May 16, 2008

You will not be bummed. I was building this movie up in my head for months before I saw it, and spent the week before release in fear that I had over-hyped it to myself and would be disappointed. Having seem it, I think it is the best movie adaptation of a comic book yet.

Joel on May 16, 2008

Yeah, dude. You're TOTALLY gonna be bummed. THAT YOU DIDN"T SEE IT SOONER!!! I'm already ready to see it again. It was THAT good.

Djo on May 16, 2008

I thought it was a grest fkick and JF, did a dscent job. room for improvement ? You bet and I'm sure we'll see that in the next one , no matter who dirrects.

Leeroy B on Jun 7, 2008

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