Though everyone knows him for Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr.’s best movie of the past decade is unquestionably the little watched, Shane Black directed noir film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. If you don’t agree, it’s only because you haven’t seen it. Once you do, you’ll agree that it’s a very good idea that Black and Downey may reunite for work on Iron Man 3.
This rumor is brought to you by THR where they claim Shane Black is one of the contenders to take over directing duties from Jon Favreau on the next Iron Man installment. For those of you who haven’t been following along with the superhero scoop wagon, late last year Iron Man 1 & 2 director Favreau announced that he was leaving the Marvel family and would not direct Iron Man 3. That leaves a hole though, perhaps, not one Marvel is in any rush to fill since odds are Iron Man 3 is still a long, long way off.
Black is just one of the directors being looked at for the job, but here’s why hiring him might make a lot of sense: It all boils down to Robert Downey Jr. The thing is Favreau left the Marvel fold because, quite frankly, he wasn’t happy with the direction Marvel’s taking. We’ve heard from our sources that Downey really wasn’t any happier, but unlike Favreau he’s under contract for another movie and doesn’t have any choice. Marvel, if they have any sense, should probably start working on making him happy. Hiring Shane Black might be a way to do that, if the two managed to develop some rapport on their last project or if RDJ at least thinks as much of his work with Black on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as the rest of us do.
On a more fiscal note, hiring a Shane Black to take over the franchise also fits in with Marvel’s current business model, which seems to be mainly about cranking out these superhero movies on a reasonably priced budget. They’re looking for grade A talent at rock bottom prices, which is probably why they hired the likes of Joss Whedon to direct Avengers instead of going after a bigger name director with more blockbuster credits on his filmography. Black, for all his talent, is not going to be able to demand top pay. They won’t have to give him Michael Bay like money in order to get him to take the job, and if you’re Marvel, that probably sounds just fine. They're better off with Shane Black anyway.
