I remember reading news a few short months ago that Jon Favereau would not be back for Iron Man 3. I remember being saddened and concerned for the future of the series. And all too often, a new director can do more bad than good. Somehow I dont't think this is the case with Shane Black.
Now please remember I love both of the Iron Man movies and I think that Favereau did a brilliant job giving us fans a worthy big screen version of Tony Stark while making him a house hold name with people unfamiliar to comics. However it was clear that Iron Man 2 had issues that really bugged some people. The realtionship between Favereau and Marvel from everything I've read was a rocky one. Marvel is acompany completely devoted to achieving a shared uinverse for it's characters to inhabit much like they do in the comics. Unfortunately pulling this off in movies is easier said than done. Personally I loved the references to Captain America, Thor, and the Black Panther. But I would speculate that some people were bothered by all of this because they were not watching the film as a build up to The Avengers, but to just see an Iron Man movie. The pressure of trying to support this shared universe must have gotten to Favereau as well. My guess is he no longer felt a sense of ownership to the franchise, and so he chose to leave.
Once again, this was all very disheartening to me. And I was really nervous about who would take over the series. Iron Man had a really special blend of technology, action, and humor that a director can not just approach half assed.
Enter Shane Black. Now I will admit, I have only seen 2 movies he worked on. The Monster Squad and The Last Action Hero. But I have done my homework and read up on him and watched interviews with him and this guy really seems to know his way around an action movie without sacrificing important elements like strong characterization and a good story. He seems to be against the Michael Bay school of thought.
Other than being a great action director, I also trust Black because he is familiar with things that have big fan followings. He wrote The Monster Squad which featured classic iconic monsters like The Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster. These characters mean a lot to many people out there, and writing a story about requires respect to them and their fan base. Black delivered that respect. Iron Man is also a classic character. Many of us grew up reading the comics and he has come to mean a lot to us all. I believe the same respect that he treated the classic monsters with will be applied to Iron Man. In fact I think The Monster Squad gives some geek cred.
Today we learned of how Black intends to treat his Iron Man story. It will be post Avengers and therefore the focus will be far more on Iron Man. And as much as I love the shared universe idea, I think this is really the way to go. It allows for people who just want an Iron Man story to get just that.
The tone that Black is taking could be different than what Favereau gave in his films. I think that with Downey on board, Iron Man 3 will still have a sense of humor to it. But Black also mentioned the story could have a Tom Clancy vibe with more realistic villains, so the tone could be darker. Now from what I read in the comments section, some people dont agree with this. Why fight regular terrorists instead of an actual villain? Well let me put in my 2 cents here. I think Black knows what he signed on for and I doubt that Marvel will let him ignore the catolgue of villains Iron Man has. There are many villains that actually lend themselves to real world threats, and I think Black is going to pick one that suits his story best. Imagine Iron Man fighting Spymaster, or Madame Masque. Hell, Black could even involve The Then Rings and introduce the Mandarin as their leader. It will be a nice change from armored baddies.
So as much I will miss Favereau, I can move on and embrace what Shane Black is offering us here. This is not Ratner screwing up with X3. I think we are for a hell of a ride.