Paramount PicturesSo this is how it works in Hollywood, now? You direct a huge summer blockbuster, you get a greenlight on your sequel and then have to bitch about your bosses...on your MySpace page?
Iron Man director Jon Favreau has been deftly fielding fanboy questions on a MySpace forum this week and has also lobbed open complaints about the ambitious schedule laid out by Marvel execs. The April 2010 release date for Iron Man II doesn't sit well with him, and here's what he said:
"Neither Robert [Downey Jr.] nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is," he writes. "We owe it to the fans to have a great version of IM2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one."
See, after Iron Man's huge debut this summer, Marvel announced a jam-packed lineup assembling the classic Avengers superhero team, including Thor (2010), Iron Man II (2010), Captain America (2011) and The Avengers (2011). Favreau says he's keen on directing The Avengers, too, and feels he won't have time. "It's been five weeks," he writes, "since the one and only phone call my reps have gotten from Marvel."
Other revelations from the thread:
- Favreau has plans for classic baddie/martial-arts master The Mandarin: "[He is] Iron Man's nemesis and will be incorporated in the sequel." As will ironclad buddy War Machine.
- While Downey Jr., as Tony Stark, shows up in this week's The Incredible Hulk, Favreau sees a Hulk cameo in Iron Man II.
- Longtime Iron Man geek Ghostface Killah shot a cameo for the film, and it should surface as an outtake on the DVD.
- Favreau liked the Hulk movie. "I saw it last night," he writes, "and it was a lot of fun."
So how will Marvel execs respond? We're keeping on eye on their Facebook wall to find out...