Jon Favreau Will NOT Direct The Avengers

Published by Jeff Leins on: October 14th, 2009

Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau confirmed today he will not be directing the superhero team-up movie The Avengers.

There has been persistent speculation Favreau would steer the daunting task of combining Marvel’s carefully constructed stand-alone films into the massive summer 2012 release, but he put an end to those rumors today.

“They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available,” Favreau told MTV.  “It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”

“It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with ‘Avengers’ you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor. How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.”

He was named as an executive producer in October 2008 when Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle were officially on board to play Tony Stark and Lt. Rhodes, respectively.  Instead Favreau will turn his attention to directing Cowboys & Aliens, a movie that should play out exactly as it sounds and with further collaboration between Downey Jr. and the Iron Man director.

So far the Avengers consists of the following heroes: Iron Man (RDJ), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).  Captain America (???) will also likely join the fight whenever that casting decision is made.

There’s still no word on whether the Hulk will be a part of the team and if that will mean the return of Edward Norton to the Bruce Banner part.  In the same interview Favreau confirmed Norton will not appear in Iron Man 2.

Of course speculation turns to who will direct The Avengers. Is Marvel going to pick a director they’ve already worked with (Kenneth Branagh on Thor, Joe Johnston on Captain America, or Louis Leterrier on Hulk)?  Or will they find a new director up for the task?