8 Filmmakers Who Had "Creative Differences" With Marvel Studios

6. Jon Favreau

Joss Whedon gets most of the credit as the director who built the Avengers, but Jon Favreau is the director who laid the foundation of the MCU with Iron Man and Iron Man 2. After having extraordinary creative freedom on Iron Man (the film did not even have a finished script before shooting began), Favreau felt micromanaged on the sequel. Marvel insisted that he make the movie a setup for The Avengers at the expense of footage developing the film's primary villain, Whiplash. As a result, Favreau passed on the opportunities to direct The Avengers or Iron Man 3. Reportedly, Favreau was also unhappy with the money Marvel was offering him after he directed two box office hits for the studio. Many believe that Favreau's indie film Chef -- about a talented chef who isn't allowed to create his own menu at his restaurant and quits to rediscover his passion by cooking in a food truck -- is a thematic reflection of his real-life issues with Marvel. Favreau still appeared in Iron Man 3 as his character Happy Hogan and served as an executive producer of The Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Avengers: Age Of Ultron. However, he has yet to take another directing gig with Marvel even though his sensibilities would be perfect for the Spider-Man reboot.