Shane Black In Talks To Direct ‘Iron Man 3’

After an overstuffed and generally underwhelming “Iron Man 2” and with director Jon Favreau officially out the door, we weren’t sure we wanted to sit through the contractually obligated third installment of the blockbuster franchise. However, Marvel might be about to change our minds.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the studio has met with Shane Black about possibly taking the gig. Black was one of the top screenwriters in Hollywood in the late 80s and early 90s, behind a string of action films including “Lethal Weapon,” “The Last Boy Scout” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight” before going quiet for about a decade. He burst back onto the scene in 2005 making his directorial debut with the hugely underrated comic noir “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Those who saw that film will probably remember it as the true beginning to Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback, released just a few years before “Iron Man” brought him to the masses.

For a franchise that seemed to run out of gas as soon as it got going, this sounds like a great idea. Black hasn’t been able to get another project off the ground since “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” although he has flirted with numerous projects including a live action adaptation of the Manga “Death Note,” an adaptation of radio serial “Doc Savage,” reteaming with Mel Gibson on the thriller “Cold Warrior,” and was even considered to direct “The Green Hornet” at one point. But the opportunity to reunite the filmmaker with Downey Jr., a perfect muse for his razor sharp dialogue, on a film of this scale has the potential to blow even the original “Iron Man” out of the water. It’s still early and Marvel is probably meeting with the usual shortlist of hot directors but this idea just seems too perfect to pass up.

“Iron Man 3” is already scheduled for a May 3, 2013 release whether Black get’s the job or not. Though our fingers are certainly crossed for him.