‘Iron Man 3’ Gets Another Villain, Jon Favreau Returns

When Jon Favreau decided to vacate the director's chair as Marvel Studios moved forward on Iron Man 3, media outlets missed one very important question: what about Happy Hogan? Filming just began on Iron Man's next adventure, and it turns out Favreau will indeed reprise his role as Tony Stark's trusty driver.

After THR broke the news, Favreau tweeted a picture from the set. His role will likely be a bit more minimal than in Iron Man 2, but if nothing else, the return shows that Marvel and the actor/director are on good terms, and possibly that Favreau is pleased with or at least really supportive of the direction the studio and director Shane Black are going.


In terms of other last-minute casting, it seems yet another villain has been added to the mix. Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton, stepson of Rod Stewart and a close friend of star Robert Downey Jr., has been cast as Jack Taggert a.k.a. Firepower. Hamilton is most famous for marrying actress Shannen Doherty when he was just 19 after knowing her two weeks. They were divorced five months later.

In the comics, Taggert worked on Project: Firepower for Stark rival Edwin Cord as a military defense weapon, but when Iron Man went on a crusade to destroy all suits using arc reactor technology, it was modified specifically to defeat Iron Man. Firepower describes the suit as a "two-ton tuxedo." It's extremely large, fast and durable and decked out with high-grade military weaponry.

It's tough to say how Firepower will fit into what we know about the story already; the plot will follow Warren Ellis' Iron Man: Extremis series, which does not feature the character. Also playing villains in the film are Ben Kingsley, whose role is unconfirmed though many believe he'll portray The Mandarin, and James Badge Dale, who recently joined the cast as Eric Savin, the soldier who after an incident becomes the cyborg Coldblood.

Iron Man 3 kicks off next summer on May 3.