Shane Black Expected to Direct 'Iron Man 3'

Deadline.com is reporting that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black is in final negotiations with Marvel Studios to helm Iron Man 3 after franchise director Jon Favreau dropped out of project to focus his efforts on Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

Black is a notable choice in that he revived Robert Downey Jr.’s career with Kiss Kiss in 2005. Three years later, the formerly-troubled actor stepped inside Tony Stark’s gold-and-crimson armor for the first time, successfully making the transition to bonafide action star.

Like many fans of this series, I was disheartened when I learned Favreau would not be coming back, as I feel he really nailed the nuances of the character in the first two films. Having said that, it will be interesting to see Black and Downey Jr. team up once again.

Iron Man 3 is slated for release on May 3, 2013—nearly one year to the day after Ol’ Shellhead teams with Captain America, Thor, Hulk and other Marvel icons in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers.

Iron Man 2 Earns $134 Million Over Opening Weekend

Director Jon Favreau’s highly anticipated sequel to his 2008 breakout smash Iron Man earned an estimated $133.6 million domestically in its debut weekend, Deadline.com reports. The film, running in 4,380 North American theaters, raked in $52.4 million on Friday alone, including $7.5 million from Thursday midnight shows in about 3,000 locations. The film has amassed $194 million overseas, putting its global take at around $327 million.

Unfortunately there are some people out there who are disappointed by these numbers, since modern-day Hollywood economics dictate that any new blockbuster must have a record-breaking opening weekend to be considered a hit. Iron Man 2’s weekend gross puts it behind the three-day totals of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight, but glowing reviews and positive word of mouth will likely ensure the superhero sequel’s success in the long run.

As an unrelenting fanboy, I went to a packed midnight screening of Iron Man 2 and thoroughly enjoyed it. While I wouldn’t say it’s better than the first film, it’s a whole hell of a lot of fun and met my fairly lofty expectations.

Click here to read my full review at Broken Frontier.

Jon Favreau: No “Multi-Villainitis” in Iron Man 2

If you’ve been keeping track, Iron Man 2 is set to feature up to three villains: Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and, possibly, Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson). What what other superhero flicks infamously featured trios of baddies? Batman & Robin and Spider-Man 3 spring to mind.

Uh oh.

Fortunately, Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau told the Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog that fans need not be alarmed by this abundance of adversaries.

“You want to be sure you don’t suffer from multi-villainitis,” Favreau said. “That’s been the downfall of many other superhero franchises.”

He added that each new villain serves a clear purpose. The Black Widow (real name Natasha Romanoff) is meant to shake up the relationship between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), while Justin Hammer is meant to complicate the friendship between Tony and his best pal James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle). As for Mickey Rourke, well, he’s on hand to be creepy and destroy things with energy whips. He also has a pet cockatoo. ‘Nuff said.

“When done right, a superhero movie has the character’s personal life mirroring what’s happening in their superhero world, and sometimes you have to force things to do it,” Favreau explained. “In this case, I’d say, we found an organic way to do it. We wanted both A-story and B-story to be affected by these new characters.”

Iron Man 2 hits theaters May 7.

The New Iron Man 2 Trailer Drove Me Stark Raving Mad!

Yes, yes, the Academy Awards took place last night and we’re all very happy for the winners. But I think the real highlight of the night came long after Kathryn Bigelow was named best director for The Hurt Locker, beating her one-time hubby James Cameron and yet somehow resisting the urge to exclaim, “I’m the Queen of the World!” For geeks, the night’s big movie moment had nothing to do with red carpets or acceptance speeches.

I’m referring, of course, to the brand-spanking new Iron Man 2 trailer that premiered following the Oscar telecast on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr., appeared on the show to debut the never-before-seen footage, and, well, wow. This movie is clearly going to be very hard to beat this summer in terms of sheer spectacle and narrative swagger.

What do we see? We see Iron Man and War Machine (Don Cheadle) tear into an army of mechanical drones. We also see more of Mickey Rourke as the villainous Whiplash. But perhaps most importantly, we see Tony armor up in his portable suit, which, like in the comics, folds out of a briefcase. It’s definitely an “oh snap” moment that I almost wish director Jon Favreau had kept under his hat until Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, but it’s really hard for me to complain about something so trivial at at the moment. I’m smiling too hard.

Watch the trailer below (via MTV's Splash Page).

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Stark Raving Mad: Iron Man Steals the Show at Comic-Con

Based on the exhaustive Internet coverage of last weekend’s Comic-Con International, those of us who couldn’t make it to San Diego really didn’t miss out on all that much as far as movies go. James Cameron screened footage of his mysterious 3D sci-fi epic Avatar, while some fans caught a glimpse of Tron Legacy, the long-awaited sequel to Disney’s 1982 cult classic starring Jeff Bridges. In addition, Twilight enthusiasts were treated to two scenes from New Moon, which hits theaters November 20. Nothing all that groundbreaking or unexpected.

But the big news coming out of the con is that Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 is shaping up to be every bit as awesome as its 2007 predecessor, and that comic book geeks have plenty to look forward to as we near its May 7, 2010 release date.

Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow) and Don Cheadle (Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes) were on hand to premiere about five minutes of footage from the anticipated film, which showcased Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury and Johansson slinking around as the sexy Russian spy. Fans also saw Mickey Rourke wreak havoc as the evil Ivan Vanko/Whiplash as well as shots of Rhodey suited up as the fan-favorite War Machine.

But Iron Mania certainly isn’t limited to the live-action film these days. Marvel Animation/Madhouse unveiled a trailer at Comic-Con for the upcoming Marvel Anime: Iron Man, penned by acclaimed comic book scribe and novelist Warren Ellis. Check out the clip below, and be sure to pick your jaw up off the floor when you’re done.