Which Marvel universe director is on THE AVENGERS shortlist?

By Matt Holmes /

Up until last year, I think it's safe to say we all expected Jon Favreau to direct "The Avengers" movie at Marvel. His "Iron Man" turned out to be the perfect superhero picture for Marvel's 21st century sensibilities and would quickly be seen as the barometer that "The Incredible Hulk" (which couldn't survive such comparisons) and the upcoming "Thor" and "Captain America" would be judged against. It outdid itself at the box office ($585 million worldwide for an original superhero movie beats out "Batman Begins", "Superman Returns" and "X-Men"), was well-received by comic book fans/non-comic book fans and critics, and Favreau has become something of a darling among the Comic Con crowd, earning our trust. In a shock to everyone though, Favreau took himself out of the running for "The Avengers" hot-seat last year. A fear of being stuck telling a story with same characters for the rest of his career, or a relationship that slightly soured with Marvel during the pre-production time on "Iron Man 2"? We can only speculate. Whatever the truth is, unless he does a major u-turn, Favreau won't be the man appointed for Marvel's most important movie in recent times. So Marvel are beginning to look at to plan B... ... which we presume will first involve a close inspection of directors they have recently worked with, meaning Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, Louis Letterier and Edgar Wright, the latter who has been developing an adaptation of "Ant-Man" for the past few years. Branagh and Johnston must be seen as the two favourites among the Marvel family. This because not only are they the most recently hired talent at the studio (so we know Marvel are into them RIGHT NOW) but unlike Wright (whose superhero work they haven't seen yet) they are directors who have undergone the process and have a certain level of trust with Marvel. Leterrier (who already ruined a superhero franchise at the studio with "The Incredible Hulk"); has too gone through the process but he lost their trust with the bad movie he turned in. So if they want it, Branagh and Johnston must be serious contenders. Ironically though it's Leterrier, the man who definitely does want it (he said as much in October, then again at the turn of 2010 and now in an interview with AICN's Mr. Beaks) who keeps talking but he has no chance in hell of getting the job. Even if he does claim to be on the shortlist;

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"I am on the shortlist, but I'm at the bottom of the shortlist, I'm sure. (Laughs) I don't know who the other guys are, but I have a great relationship with , and I've been very vocal to them and everyone else that I am the one to direct it. I loved my time at Marvel. I loved those guys. They're fantastic. Kevin is such a passionate boss; he gets his hands dirty. It's a universe I want to keep exploring. I was frustrated with . It was like, "That's it? Only one superhero? Can I do more???" We'll see. Time will tell."
Is it out of pity for Leterrier that he is on the list or will he become a serious candidate once Clash of The Titans makes money? Of course not, Marvel won't forgive and they won't forget. Whoever is on the shortlist, they are going to have to sped up the process because time is against them if they are serious about the May 2012 release date. Earlier this month Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada announced he had received a draft of Zak Penn's ("The Incredible Hulk", "X-Men 2") screenplay for "The Avengers". Quesada said on Twitter;
"Definition of 'goose bumps.' Pressing enter and watching a screenplay entitled 'AVENGERS' come out of my printer... It's official, I have the greatest job in the world,"
I would argue the job of directing "The Avengers" might be the greatest job in the world, and sometime soon Quesada is going to have to name his man.