Having launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, directed two of Disney’s most lucrative live-action remakes and spearheaded The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau is firmly embedded in the very fabric of the Mouse House. The 54 year-old has brought the studio widespread critical acclaim and billions of dollars at the box office, and is now one of the most recognizable and important filmmakers in the industry.
Given his current status, it seems hard to believe that Favreau was viewed as a very surprising choice to tackle Marvel Studios’ all-important first independent blockbuster. But indeed he was, as his last movie before Iron Man was box office bomb Zathura and his only two previous directorial credits were for low budget crime comedy Made and modern Christmas classic Elf.
After Iron Man 2 left fans and critics cold and the high concept Cowboys & Aliens bombed at the box office, few would have predicted that Favreau would be responsible for creating and developing arguably the most acclaimed Star Wars project since Return of the Jedi. But that’s exactly what he did and not one to forget his roots, The Mandalorian‘s season 2 premiere featured a subtle callback to Iron Man, which you can check out below.
Same energy, @Jon_Favreau.#TheMandalorian #IronMan pic.twitter.com/LQocReQtWR
— ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) October 31, 2020
Given both the success of The Mandalorian and the general dissatisfaction towards Kathleen Kennedy’s handling of Star Wars, a lot of fans want Favreau and Dave Filoni to be handed the keys to the whole kingdom to oversee the entire slate of movies and TV shows, similar to how Kevin Feige operates at Disney’s other major subsidiary. And based on how Mando and Baby Yoda’s adventures have turned out so far, it certainly isn’t the worst idea in the world.
