Iron Man 2 (April 30, 2010)

Jon Favreau just can't seem to talk too much about Iron Man 2 without talking about Iron Man 3.

The actor/director, who sat down with ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! to discuss Iron Man's upcoming DVD release on Sept. 30, revealed a wealth of information about his plans for helming billionaire Tony Stark's next adventure(s) in his high-tech armor – everything's still in the planning stages, but he and his collaborators have already targeted several overall story elements they expect to include. Among the revelations:

--Favreau, who admires long-form storytelling, has clearly given extensive thought to big-screen franchises, speaking in detailed terms about what worked and what didn't in the "The Lord of the Rings," "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" trilogies, and he expects to find storylines and themes that will carry through the second film and conclude in a third. He said he doesn't foresee any problems devoting the bulk of his filmmaking efforts to seeing the franchise through to the end.

--Robert Downey, Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and Terrence Howard (James "Rhodey" Rhodes) are all on board for the sequel and enthusiastic about revisiting their characters. And Favreau will be back on screen as well as behind the camera, with a (possibly expanded) role as Happy Hogan.

--He recently met with Downey at the actor's home and discussed at length the kind of character beats and moments he hopes to have when he returns to the character. Downey also introduced Favreau to actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux, who impressed Downey with his work on the actor's second summer hit Tropic Thunder, and Theroux is now working with Favreau to develop the story.

--Iron Man's classic comic book nemesis the Mandarin, the Asian crimelord who sports ten powerful ring weapons (alluded to in the first film through references to the terrorist cell the Ten Rings) will most likely emerge as a primary antagonist, although Favreau is still wrestling with how to address the villain's mystical origins and fit them into the high-tech world established in the debut film. It's also possible the Mandarin may not be fully revealed as the "Big Bad" until a possible third film to avoiding overexposing a potentially intriguing enemy .

--Favreau plans to follow the first film's themes of integrating social and political themes into the adventure and fantasy, and he hinted at a current global situation providing some inspiration – possibly an allusion to plans to utilize Iron Man's Russian counterpart, the Crimson Dynamo.

--Impressed by the use of IMAX footage in The Dark Knight, Favreau's very open to including both IMAX and 3-D sequences in the sequel.

--The most well-known storylines from the comic book series – "Demon in a Bottle," in which Stark becomes an alcoholic, and Rhodey taking over the role and armor of Iron Man during Stark's recovery – are expected to be included, possibly both in the second sequel. Rhodey's role in the first film was not as expansive as originally intended, and Favreau expects to rectify that.

--Favreau is also having designs developed for Rhodey's "War Machine" armor, and even more upgraded and tricked-out versions of Stark's suit may be utilized.

--Marvel's current plans to set its upcoming slate of films – including Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers – in the same shared universe as Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk is a tricky but still inviting prospect for Favreau, who plans to utilize his improvisational background to find clever ways to integrate certain elements of the other films into the sequels, enhancing and not disrupting his own storytelling needs. He thinks Cap and Hulk fit fairly easily into Iron Man's world, while Thor is more of a challenge.

--The director is finding a degree of inspiration in comic book writer Matt Faction's current run on "The Invincible Iron Man," which he feels in turn found inspiration from his film.

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On Wednesday, Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau participated in a live chat at the Los Angeles Times. While you can read the entire transcript there still, we've pulled out Favreau's answers to the questions that cover the sequel:

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.

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