THE GEEKSCAPE GUIDE: Who Should Direct Iron Man 3?

Congratulations, Jon Favreau. You just gave a million geeks a huge, festering ulcer. Now that Favreau has decided against directing Iron Man 3 in favor of The Magic Kingdom, a movie that supposedly takes place after hours in Disneyland when all the trademarked characters come to life (sigh…), now we have to worry about who’s going to take over yet another beloved high-profile franchise. We only just got that whole Superman thing sorted out, Jon! Couldn’t you let us recuperate a little bit first? 

But that was yesterday. Today is today, and today… we worry about tomorrow. With Iron Man 3 almost an inevitability (certainly the suits will be pissed if they can’t eke some more cash out of this successful franchise), we here at Geekscape have put together a list of directors we want to see take over for Iron Man 3. And do you know what? This is a tough job. Jon Favreau brought a very specific flavor to the Iron Man brand: one steeped not in action-movie knowhow – although no one’s denying that he knew how – but in character, comedy and good old-fashioned storytelling. Like, really old fashioned storytelling. Howard Hawks-fashioned storytelling. Michael Bay need not apply.

So, since continuity is extremely important to the Marvel Movieverse, here are our picks for people who could not only match Favreau’s tone and energy, but do it well and bring something exciting and intelligent to a franchise based on those two adjectives. Don’t worry too much about who can handle the action sequences… We’re looking for great directors here. Great Second Unit Directors is a very different list indeed.

FLORIAN HENCKEL VON DONNERSMARCK

CREDENTIALS: The Tourist, The Lives of Others

An Academy Award-winner for a Foreign Film about Nazis? Well, he’s definitely got Favreau’s indie cred (and then some). But with 2010’s The Tourist Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck proved himself capable of directing wildly entertaining thrillers with a sexy, wry wit: just what Iron Man 3 needs. The Tourist is being called a box office bomb – Zathura didn’t exactly set the world on fire either, if you remember – but with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy under its belt this delightful romp could get von Donnersmarck an audition for the big-budget superhero action movie that clearly matches his sensibilities to a “t.” And we wish him luck. We think he’d knock it out of the park.

BEN STILLER

CREDENTIALS: Tropic Thunder, Reality Bites 

Jon Favreau sniped Tropic Thunder’s screenwriter Justin Theroux to pen Iron Man 2, which means that Tropic Thunder was clearly on the right wavelength. And do you know who directed Tropic Thunder? Ben Stiller, working with a great script and a bigger budget than he’s ever had before. He nailed it. The man knows how to tell a funny story without sacrificing real, likable characters (Reality Bites, anyone?) and we think it’s time he stepped up to the big leagues. It doesn’t get much bigger than Iron Man 3, Ben. Time to make your move.

JAMES MANGOLD

CREDENTIALS: Knight & Day, 3:10 to Yuma

We love James Mangold. The man’s been making great movies for fifteen years now and worked his way up from indie dramas like Heavy to Academy Award-winners like Girl, Interrupted and Walk The Line. But most importantly this man knows how to take a genre premise and make it sing. 3:10 To Yuma is one of the most badass remakes in years, and Knight & Day is the perfect audition piece for Iron Man 3: exciting action sequences and stellar chemistry elevating what many considered clichéd material. (Huh… Sounds a lot like Iron Man, doesn’t it?) Who cares if his movies haven’t made much money… Audiences will come to see Iron Man 3 no matter who directs it. The real question is whether they’ll want to see Iron Man 4 afterwards. Mangold can pull that off, no question. 

DAVID GORDON GREEN

CREDENTIALS: Pineapple Express, All The Real Girls 

David Gordon Green’s had weird career so far: independent dramas like All The Real Girls and Undertow brought him astounding critical acclaim, and then he goes and makes Pineapple Express, proving that he knows how to make hilarious action-comedies too. With the upcoming Your Highness, we’re convinced that this guy who used to make movies about people talking in houses can handle movies about explodey robot fights. He might even make us cry right in the middle of them. Wouldn’t that be novel?

CHRIS SANDERS & DEAN DEBLOIS

CREDENTIALS: How To Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch

There are lots of animation directors out there with talent, but that doesn’t always translate to live-action. (The Horton Hears A Who guy didn’t exactly nail Jonah Hex, now did he?) Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois? We think they’re the real deal. Both Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon are wonderful films that marry geeky action sequences to believable, lovable and funny(-able) characters. The best moments in How To Train Your Dragon weren’t the badass dragon fights (although those came close second), they were the honest, awkward and amusing relationship between the likable hero and his equally likable father who want to love each other and don’t know how. Bonus: Iron Man vs. Fin Fang Foom! 

ARMANDO IANUCCI

CREDENTIALS: In The Loop, The Thick of It

No idea who he is? You must have missed In The Loop last year. Don’t feel bad. Nobody else saw it either, and yet somehow it garnered a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards. Armando Ianucci directed the film (and shared that Oscar nod), which is one of the best political comedies ever made. After Jon Favreau’s ratatatat Hawksian direction of Iron Man 3, Ianucci was the first name that came to mind to follow up in that distinctive tone. The man’s a hilarious director who knows how to put complicated machinations into a context audiences can understand and appreciate. If the political subplots of SHIELD continue into Iron Man 3, Ianucci would be the perfect person to dramatize them without making the film seem lifeless or stodgy. And we’d love to see how he’d work with Robert Downey Jr., whose impeccable comic timing is one of Iron Man’s best features.

PHIL ALDEN ROBINSON

CREDENTIALS: Sneakers, The Sum Of All Fears

Phil Alden Robinson is, and we’re not saying this lightly, one of the great directors. From Field of Dreams to Sneakers, still the best hacker movie ever made, he’s proven he knows how to tell iconic tales full of fascinating characters and – gasp! – actually entertain while doing it. The Sum Of All Fears probably could have used less Affleck (and the white supremacist angle was a distractingly P.C. rewrite), but otherwise it’s a hell of a political thriller. We’d love to see how a man this talented handles one of America’s great superheroes. Iron Man’s political ties, celebrity and broad personality couldn’t be handled by anyone better.

JON CHU

CREDENTIALS: Step Up 3D, Step Up 2 The Streets

Let’s face it folks: Iron Man 3 will be shot in 3D. And do you know which director has done 3D better than any other? Nope, not James Cameron. Jon-fucking-Chu, director of Step Up 3D. Didn’t see it? You should. Chu already elevated the Step Up franchise with Step Up 2 The Streets, but in the third film he transformed the franchise into a superhero parable about a street dancing Professor X training a team of misfits with special abilities to dance-fight post-apocalyptic warriors. It had subterfuge, secret identities, and most importantly lots and lots of heart. Chu needs to break out of the dance genre, and it seems like superheroes are the next logical step.

DAVID R. ELLIS

CREDENTIALS: Snakes On A Plane, Cellular

David R. Ellis is a hell of a director, but nobody seems to know who he is. Here’s an introduction: Do you remember the freeway chase in The Matrix Reloaded? You know, the best damned part of either Matrix sequel? He was 2nd Unit Director on that bad boy. That was all him. Since then he’s been directing one great B-Movie after another, from the spectacular Final Destination 2 to the underrated Cellular to the hilarious Snakes On A Plane. Here’s a guy who knows how to tell a story, how to shoot an action sequence, and how to be funny without apologizing for the ludicrous plot. David R. Ellis deserves a bigger break. We suggest Iron Man 3.

EDGAR WRIGHT

CREDENTIALS: Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

“Hey Edgar, how’s Ant Man coming along? What? It’s not? We put it on the backburner years ago to focus on mainstream heroes like Iron Man? Huh, funny you should mention it… We need a director for Iron Man 3…” Let’s be honest folks: Edgar Wright can do no wrong. His style may be a little much for the Iron Man series, but the man’s actually very good at adapting to different genres. (We loved his Tony Scott flourishes in Hot Fuzz. Didn’t you?) We know he’s funny enough, we know he can handle groovy action sequences, we know he can do this. The real question is: Does Marvel?

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