Shane Black to direct'Iron Man 3'? Reports have Marvel Studios near deal for Jon Favreau successor

Marvel Studiosseems ready to bet on Black for"Iron Man 3."Shane Blackthat is.

In the wake ofJon Favreau's decision exit the popular superhero franchise, the studio is in final negotiations to hire the 49-year-old writer-director to take over,Deadline.comreported.

If Black, who is best known as one of the biggest action screenplay writers of the '80s, gets the gig, he would reteam withRobert Downey Jr., who is returning as the titular superhero. Downey Jr. acted in Black's 2005 directorial debut,"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,"and is believed to have recommended him to replace Favreau.

It's unclear whether the"Lethal Weapon"scribe would also write a draft of the script for the movie, according to theHollywood Reporter.

Favreau's decision to exit"Iron Man 3"after directing the franchise's first two installments left a repulsor blast-sized hole in fanboys’ hearts.

"It's true, I'm directing Magic Kingdom {forDisney}, not Iron Man 3,"Favreau tweeted in December."I've had a great run with Marvel and wish them the best."

The first twoIron Manfilms earned $1.2 billion worldwide and paved the way for Marvel's ambitious slate of other superhero movies, including this year's"Thor"and"Captain America: The First Avenger"and next year’s"The Avengers,"which unites the studio's three big superheroes.

Black already has a pretty full dance card, already writing a script forWarner Brothers' Death Note, based on the popular manga, and is also working on a big screen version of Doc Savage, a two-fisted, yet intellectual pulp hero, forSony.

Source