When Jon Favreau first announced that he wouldn’t be returning to direct Iron Man 3, he noted that he’d be devoting his time instead to developing his directorial feature Magic Kingdom.  Not much was known about the film other than the fact that it centers on a family inside “the Disneyland theme park in which attractions and characters come to life.”  That was late 2010 when Favreau became attached, and aside from an update last summer revealing that Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon was coming aboard to work on the script, news on the Magic Kingdom front has been very, very quiet.

Favreau just recently entered talks to direct an adaptation of the stage musical Jersey Boys in what will likely be his next film, so many were left wondering what exactly happened to Magic Kingdom.  The director has now given a reassuring update on the project, adding that he’s actually getting a bit of help from the folks at Pixar.  Hit the jump for much more, including story details.

A feature film adaptation of the Broadway hit Jersey Boys has been in development for the past two years, but now it appears that producer Graham King (The Town) is getting serious about actually making the film.  The documentary-style musical tells the story of The Four Seasons, chronicling the group’s rise in the 1960s with such hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.” Back in January, Hugo and Rango scribe John Logan was tapped to write the screenplay, and now it appears that Jon Favreau is the frontrunner to direct the pic.  Hit the jump for more.

At last year’s Comic-Con, Entertainment Weekly’s “The Visionaries” panel featured Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams waxing poetic on everything nerd. This year, Guillermo del Toro and Jon Favreau were present to have an earnest conversation between two directors about filmmaking. The topics of conversation ranged from Magic Kindom and Haunted Mansion, to Cowboys & Aliens and At the Mountains of Madness. Favreau even revealed that he has a cameo as a Thark in Andrew Stanton’s John Carter, a project which he previously developed. Hit the jump for my recap of The Visionaries panel.

It took a few months to cross all of the t’s and dot all of the i’s, but Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon has finally closed the deal to write Disney’s upcoming family adventure pic, Magic Kingdom. Back in March, we reported that Chabon was in talks to pen the project for director Jon Favreau and now, three months later, Heat Vision is confirming the news. While there aren’t a ton of plot details available for Magic Kingdom, we do know that the film will take place in the Disney theme park. Per the report, it may also integrate other theme parks on a global scale (don’t get your hopes up, Six Flags…you’re probably not included). In addition to landing Magic Kingdom, Chabon was also in the headlines earlier this week when Darren Aronofsky signed on to direct the pilot for his HBO period drama, Hobgoblin.

Author Michael Chabon and director Jon Favreau have been in talks to team up for Magic Kingdom, Disney’s family adventure project in which iconic characters and attractions come to life.  Chabon, whose novels are all in various stages of film adaptation, could take over writing duties from Battlestar Galactica TV series writer, Ron Moore.  Moore’s original draft was axed as soon as Favreau came on board, fresh off the news that he wouldn’t be directing Iron Man 3.  Both Favreau and Chabon have experience working with Disney and should be a good team if the powers that be want to hand them the keys to the Magic Kingdom.  Hit the jump to see the other projects this duo has in the works.

In sad but not surprising news, Jon Favreau will not return to direct Iron Man 3.  His departure from the franchise makes sense in light of reported difficulties between Favreau and Marvel over his salary for Iron Man 2 and the creative control over that film.  Vulture reports that Favreau’s fee for directing Iron Man 3 would have been too high for Marvel and that the studio began the search for a replacement last night.  A source also tells Vulture that Marvel may have been attempting to dissuade Favreau by “pushing a confusing and packed vision of the third film.”  Favreau recently said that the story for Iron Man 3 (which currently has no script) would follow the events of Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.

Hit the jump for more.  Iron Man 3 is currently set for May 3, 2013.  Favreau’s new film, Cowboys & Aliens, is due out July 29, 2011.

UPDATE: Favreau has just tweeted:

It’s true, I’m directing Magic Kingdom, not Iron Man 3. I’ve had a great run with Marvel and wish them the best.

Let the speculation begin over who will direct Iron Man 3.  Original story continues after the jump:

Disney has hired Jon Favreau (Iron Man) to direct Magic Kingdom.  According to Heat Vision, the film centers on “the Disneyland theme park in which attractions and characters come to life.”  We don’t know much about the film for right now apart from that plot description, but it’s easy to think of the film as a Disney version of Night at the Museum until we get a grasp of what the final product will be like.   Battlestar Galactica’s Ron Moore wrote the latest screenplay draft, but a new writer is expected to come on and work with Favreau on a new draft.  Hit the jump to see what other films Disney has planned that are based on their theme park rides.