Jon Favreau has confirmed that he'll be executive producing The Avengers, Marvel's 2012 superhero team-up, but has flatly discounted rumours that he'll be directing. "You need somebody who has the perspective of all the different franchises to bring them together," he told MTV. "I have the myopic vision of just knowing and loving Iron Man."
He also confirmed that Edward Norton won't be in it as The Incredible Hulk. Not that much confirmation was needed, but the actor had recently been quoted as saying he thought the green behemoth would make a good Avengers adversary, leading to a certain amount of speculation that he was open for returning.
Anyway, back to Favreau: "I'll definitely have input and a say," he says, "but they'll have to find a different director because I'm not going to be available." Interesting that, because it suggests he already knows what he's doing after directing Cowboys vs Aliens, the sci-fi Western starring Robert Downey Jr that the pair are embarking on after Iron Man 2. We're only currently aware of one other upcoming project for Favreau, in the form of the Sony Pictures animation Neanderthals (where he's credited as writer and producer). What does he know that he's not telling?