SCI FI PI

SCI FI PI comes to you live, from the US!

In talks with press today in Hollywood, Jon Favreau revealed (just casually) that the HUD in Iron Man would look awesome in 3D, and that he saw the Imax footage of The Dark Knight as 'game changing' with an impact similar to the way that the original cinema affected people who had never seen it before.

He went on to discuss the possibility of shooting, if not the next Iron Man, but the one after, on Imax and in 3D, subject to budgetary constraints. Of which, he is sure, Marvel have an idea, but at this stage they have the 'write the script first, then we'll see' attitude to how much money will be set aside for the 2010 release.



The Mark 1 suit weighs in at roughly forty five kilos, and took twelve men to build.


Favreau went on to discuss the problematic inclusion of the Iron Man villains, including the fan fave Mandarin, who has rings that give him mystical powers, were Iron Man's 'super' powers are grounded in believable technology. Favreau would not name names as to who the villain(s) of the next film may be, but the Mandarin seems assured of an appearance by at least Iron Man 3, which Favreau has confirmed is all part of an ongoing franchise that will, he hopes, continue for a decade, into as he puts it, the 'fourth one'.

He was however, more forthcoming about Terence Howard's dual role as Jim Rhodes and War Machine, with Tony Stark in for a rough ride with alcoholism.

Chats at Stan Winston's creature shop with key creatives included confirmation that Terence Howard's build (6'2" and "skinny as a rail") is perfect for the practical suit for War Machine.

Favreau was also quick to point out that even though the 'realism' of Iron Man is important, the light tone sets is apart from The Dark Knight. "There is plenty of room in the playground for both of us. They're over by the swings, and we're on this end, down by the toilets." Which may be geographically correct, but one hopes, metaphorically insignificant.



Robert Downey Jr was working on concepts and script ideas with Jon Favreau yesterday. At his house.


Favreau sees the franchise's strengths in character direction as key to its success, and was clear that the upcoming film's plot will be simple, whilst the character development will be complex. The suits will be subtler 'cooler' and so will the HUD. And 'Happy' Hogan (played by Favreau) will have a bigger role, as well!



All the key cast will be back!

In the meantime, the Iron Man 2 disc DVD and Blu-ray will be out in Oz, October 30.