It would seem we’ll have to look to someone else to provide the directorial flourishes for Iron Man 3: Jon Favreau has told Marvel that he won’t be sitting in the director’s chair for the third movie.
According to Vulture’s sources, which have now been confirmed by Variety, he's focusing on other projects. It’s not a total shock as the director has often been non-committal when asked whether he’ll take up the reins again. And while a certain level of that is normal for any filmmaker looking to keep their future plans private, or locked into contracts that demand their silence, it’s always seemed like he really wasn’t rushing back to the franchise, even though he was one of the people that launched it.
Vulture’s story doesn’t offer up a solid final reason for the decision, though speculates that Favreau has grown frustrated about Marvel’s decision to keep loading the other heroes into the stand-alone films. Chatting with MTV recently, he made it seem as though he’s no longer keeping such a close eye on what the various heroes are up to or what the Marvel bods would want to do with the third instalment. “In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Avengers,” said Favreau at the time. “This whole world… I have no idea what it is. I don’t think they do either, from conversations I’ve had with those guys.” Either that, or Marvel is being extra frugal when it comes to the new movie and he's now out of their price range.
Whatever the reason, it’s not like he’s pulled away from the company’s corporate overseers at Disney – Favreau is making preparations to direct Magic Kingdom for the company. Plus Iron Man 3 isn’t planned to hit cinemas until May 2013, so there’s still loads of time for either Favreau to come back or for Marvel to find someone else. When they do start the search, expect Robert Downey Jr (who has director approval) to start receiving a lot of extra gifts this Christmas...
**Update! **Favreau himself has now gone on the record via Twitter: "It's true, I'm directing Magic Kingdom, not Iron Man 3. I've had a great run with Marvel and wish them the best." And talking to the LA Times, he says diplomatically that, "I look forward to seeing what others can do playing in the same world.”