The popular Iron Man franchise saw a little shake up earlier this year when news circled that director Jon Favreau wouldn’t be returning to directIron Man 3. Instead, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black would be taking the director’s chair. He’ll also be working closely with screenwriter Drew Pearce on the script in what will reportedly be more of a thriller in the Tom Clancy style, with Iron Man pitted against more realistic villains.
Hero Complex has it from Downey Jr. himself about Black’s direction and the third entry into the franchise. Downey Jr. commented that he and Black were good collaborators and on the same track as far as the film was progressing:
He’s more than the sum of his parts and he’s also kind of been a sleeper for a long time. We’re not talking much about [the script] right now because Shane is off writing and we talked before that and when we are talking again the talking is going to be over pretty quick [because we’re on the same page]. It’s kind of like we’re fighting on the same side and at the same time we’re circling each other, so it’s all great. It should be great.
The awesome writing and direction of the first two films, plus Robert Downey Jr.’s cheeky take on Tony Stark, made for some great comic book/action cinema. Let’s hope Black and Downey Jr. can recapture the fun and heart of the first two. They have established they can work successfully together, as Downey Jr. starred in Black’s 2005 noirish and self-referential Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. But Iron Man 3 won’t have the same meta moments, according to Downey Jr.:
The thing about Shane is that it will be anything but one of those moments [meta]. Unless we come up with something that is so cheeky and character-driven and perfect that it has to be in the movie.
Bringing in Shane Black to write and direct Iron Man 3, to me, is basically the only transition from Favreau to a ‘next thing’ that Favreau and the audience and Marvel and I could ever actually sign off on. The fun thing is going to be getting Happy in the movie.
We’ll just have to wait and see if the grittier feel thanks to more realistic villains and a “spy” thriller vibe will work. There’s a lot of pressure on Black to perform, as this sequel has two great predecessors to stand up to. It does bode well that Downey Jr. feels good about the project, and Black’s involvement. For now, we’ll remain optimistic.
How about you?
