Last month, when it was announced that Shane Black was close to signing on to direct Iron Man 3, we commented how delighted we were that someone with such a keen grasp of scripting would be in charge of what comes out of Robert Downey Jr’s gob as Tony Stark (or at least working with him to craft something great). But while he’s now locked in to call the shots, the related rumours – about Marvel looking to find someone else to do the heavy lifting on the writing front – have also panned out, with Drew Pearce scoring the job.
Pearce will likely be best known for his work creating and writing ITV’s No Heroics sitcom, the series that found a bunch of slightly naff superheroes discussing their lives in the titular pub, when not out trying to get laid or recognised for their deeds.
But while you might think it’s a bit of a leap from that to handling the script for one of the big superhero tentpoles, you wouldn’t be wrong. But Pearce has had a stepping-stone with Marvel after he impressed the bosses with his screenplay for the film based on Runaways, the title about young heroes trying to subvert their super villainous parents’ evil ways.
Plus, since Black has A) the reigns of the film and B) a rapport with Downey Jr after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, we’re sure he’ll have plenty of input…