Favreau Talks Iron Man 2 And 3 (Potential Spoilers)

Altanzitarron · 09-13-2008, 09:58 AM

If you want to leave Iron Man completely unspoiled then just avoid this thread all together. Theres nothing huge here but I don't see a need for spoiler tags.

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I just came from an epic hour long interview with Jon Favreau (for the Iron Man DVD) where he spent a lot of time talking about his plans for Iron Man 2 and 3. A lot of time. I'll be updating this article with quotes as the day goes along (hint: don't use Recorder on the iPhone to record long interviews, as the app doesn't like wifi syncing files more than like a minute long, so you'll have to transcribe right off the phone), but here are some paraphrases of what he said:

- He's been working with screenwriter Justin Theroux and Robert Downey Jr very hard on the script for the next film. He was just at RDJ's house the day before talking about the movie.

- While it's still early in the process, Favreau said that he very much wants War Machine in the second film. He said that Rhodey had a smaller than anticipated role in the first movie and that he would like to rectify that.

- Happy Hogan will also be getting more screentime, he said. 'Or else I walk!' he threatened.

- The Mandarin is the overarching, behind the scenes villain of Favreau's planned trilogy, but he's very aware of how hard it is to keep a character like that cool. He compared it to The Emperor from Star Wars - when you first see him, you're blown away that Darth Vader is bowing down to someone but by Jedi you just want The Emperor to shut up. And by Clone Wars he's a sidekick.

- The Mandarin is also 'surrounded by minefields,' specifically the racial aspects and the fact that his powers are arcane in nature. Favreau is very aware of keeping his Iron Man films playing by their own rules, and that seems to preclude magic rings, especially ones that Favreau says would upset the very balance of nature in the universe. Don't expect to see The Mandarin in robes jumping around shooting freeze rays. They were thinking that a traditional Mandarin might work until they saw the trailers for the new Mummy - 'They had The Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom!' Favreau said.

- The reality of Iron Man is something he's very concerned with when it comes to The Avengers. Favreau thinks Hulk and Captain America work to an extent in Iron Man's universe, but he's not 100% sure about Thor.

- He was surprised that the fun cameos he put into Iron Man have now become part of the Marvel movie style. He says it's challenging having to work specific scenes into your movie, but with his improv background it's a challenge he likes.

- Favreau wants to complicate the personal stories in the sequels, not the plot lines. He sort of pointed at The Dark Knight as a movie that had a very complicated plot, and said he wanted to make his movies the kind of films where you don't have to study up on what came before. To him it's about the characters first and the stories should be simple and fun.

- The burgeoning new Cold War interests Favreau. World events have made many of Iron Man's stories and enemies current again. Could we be seeing Crimson Dynamo?

- Favreau is aware that the end battle of Iron Man wasn't that spectacular, and he's looking to really up the ante on the action next time. He said that he learned a lot about shooting action on the first film; the scene where Iron Man shoots the hostage takers in the desert town was the very last bit that Favreau shot for the film after reshoots, and he thinks that he found the way to incorporate humor and character into his action there.

- He's really excited about Matt Fraction's run on the Iron Man comic, and he hints that these comics - which he feels also feed off the movie - will inform the next film. He's looking to meet with Fraction soon.

- Demon In A Bottle is coming. Favreau sees his trilogy as almost one long story, comparing it less to the Spider-Man films, which are modular, and more to The Lord of the Rings or even a season of a TV show.

Source: FAVREAU TALKS THE FUTURE OF IRON MAN

Some good stuff here, yay for War Machine although it's not really that suprising. I'm glad he's taking his time about working out Manderin because if he's done wrong it could seriously harm the franchise. I also think it's great that he's aware the last action sequence wasn't that great so hopefully there will be a step up when it comes to the action scenes in the next one. I think the "Demon In A Bottle" arc is about Stark batteling alcoholism too so that'll be an interesting story line.

Blueyes · 09-13-2008, 10:02 AM

Sweet, more Iron Man with Downey in it. He looks odd with his big mustache right now for the Sherlock Holmes role.

wolfheart · 09-13-2008, 10:57 AM

I hope they manage to pull this off,i really liked the first one,but sequels can be a bit stale if they dont take there time

Altanzitarron · 10-06-2008, 09:55 AM

Some more stuff from the man himself about the future of the franchise.

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We're playing with who the villain should be and what we should incorporate from the comic book. And how it will lead into the Avengers.

I'm working with Justin a writer. He's writing the first draft of the script. I'm working with a story board artist. As well as designing the costumes for good guys and bad guys.

I think its important for all filmmakers working for Marvel to collaborate so there is a consistency in the films, so yes they should keep in touch. I had not been in touch really with Louis during"Hulk" and I think that would have been helpful. I hope to be in contact with directors in the future.

No Dresden, but Marty and Elayne would make good supervillians.

Mandarin is still an important figure in the Iron Man universe. We have an interesting take on him that allows us to incorporate the whole pantheon of villains. The whole 10 Rings thing in IM 1 was a good tease for it.

The sequel is shaping up to incorporate Tony's vision for the future. What happens after he says "I am Iron Man?"

I focus mostly on story and character. I put a great value on emotion, humor and natural dialogue. The effects are fun to explore in original ways, but without a strong story, they mean nothing.

An earlier answer that scrambled: Now that marvel is making its own movies, every movie has to fit into the Marvel universe. the Avengers incorporates not just Iron Man, but Thor, possibly the Hulk and traditionally Captain America as well. As it is, it's scheduled Thor will come out the same summer as "Iron Man2" and Captain America will come out a few months before Avengers. All the films have to come together to create a consistent universe.That's very important to everyone involved.

Robert brought him to life "for real." I found a guy that embodied enough of the qualities of Tony Stark to imbue him with an emotional reality. Fergus and Ostby and Markum and Holloway added much to the equation as writers as well.

Happy Hogan can no longer be a wall flower. I must marry Pepper someday. And let's not rule out the Freak! I have tremendous leverage to make such demands! Stay tuned.

Shield is imortant to the franchise, and what is Shield without Fury?

The only other comic character I would do is Groo.

The "connection" you ask about relates directly to the Mythic "rise of the hero" or hero's journey. The character must grow or change over the course of the film. If not, the movie goes emotionally flat and relies on tittilation.

We need War Machine. Agreed. Shoulder cannons and all.

Stark has issues with booze. That's part of who he is. I don't think we'll ever do the Leaving Las Vegas version, but it will be dealt with.

The date is daunting. We are making much faster progress than the first time around and have much less to design and fewer casting issues. I am confident that 2010 is achievable if we continue working together as we have for tha past few months. It has to be great, though. It has to be great.

My seven year old son said Iron Man was the second best movie of the year. #1 was Panda.

The new Fraction books are pretty great. We flew him out to LA to discuss story. He's a great comic writer. Also, love Adi's art. He will work on the movie's designs.

There's always room for improv on my sets. I set up multiple cameras and let them rip.

I think we need some version of "classic villains" in these movies. Many don't hold up well to time and to the big screen, but their essence should inspire the characters.

Female villain... Now there's an interesting notion.

Tough to actually shoot in IMAX when you have a CG hero much of the time. The effects becaome very expensive and may not look as good in the higher resolution. Worked very well for DK, though.

Iron Man is indeed a celebrity. He announced who he was and we have now officially departed from the standard secret ID superhero. Tony was already famous before the announcement. What would really happen if this went down? Fun to explore.

source: Jon Favreau Chats About Iron Man 2 - Superhero Hype!