In the history of cinematic erasures,Jon Favreauhas had a bit of a rough break when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Marvel Studios chiefKevin Feigeand his team brainstormed the MCU at large, Favreau’s direction onIron Manplayed a huge role in establishing the foundation of that universe’s tone, and introducing audiences toRobert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man – arguably Marvel’s MVP as the character whose arc audiences have followed the longest, through three solo films, two Avengers team-ups, and the upcomingCaptain America: Civil War. (Hell, even the critically pannedIron Man 2was a huge learning curve for the studio’s major attempt at setting up the shared universe.)
Favreau departed from the MCU as director afterIron Man2, but in addition to returning as Tony’s hired gun and confidante Happy Hogan inIron Man 3, Favreau has quietly remained on board through bothThe AvengersandAvengers: Age of Ultron. In fact,Captain America: Civil Waris the first Marvel Studios film to feature Iron Man that Favreau didn’t executive produce, but it seems that was only a one-time deal. In an interview with Digital Spy, theJungle Bookdirector revealed that he is back as an EP forJoeandAnthony Russo’s next Marvel event,Avengers: Infinity War.
Here’s what he said:
“I’m going to be executive producing the Avengers films with the Russo brothers, which I’m very excited about. I talk to them about it all the time. I’ve worked both in front of and behind the camera with Marvel and I really love what they’re doing right now. It’s a really exciting time to be over there. I’ve seen a rough cut of Civil War and it’s fantastic. We’re constantly looking for things to do together. And now I’m freed up.”
But don’t expect to see Favreau back at the helm of his own Marvel film anytime soon. While it certainly could be in the cards for the future, the director has already signed on to return forThe Jungle Book 2at Disney, and then there’s the matter of whether or not he even wants to direct another superhero flick. After all, they’re a huge commitment in both time and energy. He explained as much in his interview, pointing out that he’s “spent a big chunk of [his] career working on that already, and explaining that he opted not to return forIron Man 3because he wanted to “explore other things.” The result of that was Chef, one of Favreau’s strongest, most delightful films to date, so maybe staying on the sidelines of the superhero biz isn’t such a bad thing.
What do you guys think? Happy to see Favreau returning to the Marvel fold as EP? Holding out hope that he’ll try his hand at another superhero film in the future? Or would you rather see the director/actor continue to create his own original projects? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.
