When it was announced that Jon Favreau would not be directing Iron Man 3, some of the more detail-oriented fans asked the question, "what about Happy Hogan?" In addition to serving as director on both Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Favreau cast himself as Tony Stark's #1 bodyguard. Despite the fact that things seemed to be on good terms between the studio and the filmmaker (Favreau was an executive producer on The Avengers) some people still worried that Favreau's firing would result in a continuity change. Fear not.
Favreau has confirmed to fans via Twitter that he will indeed be back to play Happy Hogan in Iron Man 3. Rather than using words, the actor/director simply wrote, "BTW" and posted this picture.
Other stalwarts of the franchise returning for round three include Robert Downey Jr. - as the titular hero - Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Paul Bettany. New cast members to the series include Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, James Badge Dale. Shane Black is directing the movie and co-wrote the script with Drew Pierce. The plot is said to be tied to the "Extremis" story arc in the comics where Iron Man had to stop the results of a powerful nanovirus. It was reported earlier today that Ashley Hamilton has joined the cast as Firepower.
This news really shouldn't surprise anyone. It would have been petty for Favreau to say no to an offer and Marvel would have been stupid not to have given him one. So let's all rejoice and be happy about Happy!
