Every MCU Director's Best Film (NOT In The MCU)

15. Jon Favreau - Chef

The man who started it all, Jon Favreau pulled off the spectacular by directing the very first MCU film, Iron Man, to critical and commercial acclaim. Without him, it is entirely possible that the franchise wouldn’t get off the ground and cinema as a whole would look completely different to how it is today.

Favreau’s relationship with Marvel soured somewhat following the muddled Iron Man 2, with studio interference getting in the way of a clear story (a recurring theme on this list). Thankfully, the two parties have since made up, with Favreau continuing to play Tony Stark’s bodyguard Happy Hogan in the Spider-Man films, as well as serving as an executive producer on several more entries in the MCU.

Favreau has had a very strong filmmaking career, having directed big hits like the classic Christmas comedy Elf and the ‘live-action’ remake of The Jungle Book. Outside of the movies, Favreau has of course had great success as showrunner of the Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian.

But his best film is not a showy blockbuster. Instead, it’s Chef, a lower budgeted comedy-drama. The plot follows Carl Casper (Favreau), who quits his job as head chef at a prestigious restaurant to open a food truck and travel the US. Featuring a great ensemble cast that includes MCU alumni Scarlett Johannsson and Robert Downey Jr., Chef is an utter delight from start to finish.

Hilarious and heartfelt, Casper’s journey has been interpreted as a parallel for what happened to Favreau at Marvel. There is so much to love about this film and if you’re not incredibly hungry by the end of it, then something is clearly wrong with you.