In the history of cinematic erasures, Jon Favreau has had a bit of a rough break when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige and his team brainstormed the MCU at large, Favreau's direction on Iron Man played a huge role in establishing the foundation of that universe's tone, and introducing audiences to Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man -- arguably Marvel's MVP as the character whose arc audiences have followed the longest, through three solo films, two Avengers team-ups, and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War. (Hell, even the critically panned Iron Man 2 was a huge learning curve for the studio's major attempt at setting up the shared universe.)

Favreau departed from the MCU as director after Iron Man 2, but in addition to returning as Tony's hired gun and confidante Happy Hogan in Iron Man 3, Favreau has quietly remained on board through both The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. In fact, Captain America: Civil War is the first Marvel Studios film to feature Iron Man that Favreau didn't executive produce, but it seems that was only a one-time deal. In an interview with Digital Spy, the Jungle Book director revealed that he is back as an EP for Joe and Anthony Russo's next Marvel event, Avengers: Infinity War.

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image via Marvel

Here's what he said:

"I'm going to be executive producing the Avengers films with the Russo brothers, which I'm very excited about. I talk to them about it all the time. I've worked both in front of and behind the camera with Marvel and I really love what they're doing right now. It's a really exciting time to be over there. I've seen a rough cut of Civil War and it's fantastic. We're constantly looking for things to do together. And now I'm freed up."

But don't expect to see Favreau back at the helm of his own Marvel film anytime soon. While it certainly could be in the cards for the future, the director has already signed on to return for The Jungle Book 2 at Disney, and then there's the matter of whether or not he even wants to direct another superhero flick. After all, they're a huge commitment in both time and energy. He explained as much in his interview, pointing out that he's "spent a big chunk of [his] career working on that already, and explaining that he opted not to return for Iron Man 3 because he wanted to "explore other things." The result of that was Chef, one of Favreau's strongest, most delightful films to date, so maybe staying on the sidelines of the superhero biz isn't such a bad thing.

What do you guys think? Happy to see Favreau returning to the Marvel fold as EP? Holding out hope that he'll try his hand at another superhero film in the future? Or would you rather see the director/actor continue to create his own original projects? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.

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Image via Marvel Studios
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Image via Marvel