by Joseph McCabe

Director Jon Favreau wowed the crowd here at Wondercon 2008 today when he unveiled new footage from his hotly anticipated upcoming superhero epic Iron Man. Several scenes were shown, and all were met with wild applause from the rabid crowd of comic-book lovers that packed Hall A of San Francisco's Moscone Center South Convention Center. This new footage depicted inventor Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) building and testing his silver chrome Mark II suit of armor after he escapes from the militia that captures him on an overseas business trip--and inadvertently sets the greedy zillionaire on a path of reformation and redemption.

The new footage demonstrated the sly comedy that both Favreau and Downey Jr. are known for, as well as the amazing special effects work that George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic is preparing for the film. After a wobbly first take off (which accidently results in Stark trashing part of his priceless sports car collection), we saw the superhero-in-training don the mask of Iron Man (with the help of his faithful servant Jarvis), and beheld the amazing way in which he sees the world through his high-tech helmet--before he blasts out of his underground laboratory into the night sky. It was pretty thrilling stuff.

Favreau then chatted with the audience, and answered some of their questions about the film. The director credited his experiences in indy filmmaking for the rich characters that seem to populate Iron Man. One such character, James Rhodes (Stark's friend and confidant, played in the film by Terrance Howard) will differ slightly from his comic-book incarnation.

"He's a buttoned-down Air Force lieutenant," said Favreau of Rhodes, "but he's involved in Tony Stark's escape and rescue... He could certainly be a superhero in his own right" (a hint that we might see Howard don his own suit of armor in a follow-up film).

Favreau also hinted that an Iron Man sequel may explore Tony Stark's eventual battle with alcoholism, but that it would "be tricky to deal with it in a family-friendly frachise." Additionally, said Favreau, "what we can expect in the future are new armors." Because the studio is excited by the prospect of numerous suits of Iron Man armor, since it would aid the development of an extensive Iron Man toy line.

Favreau also confirmed we may see him direct an Avengers movie, in which Iron Man would team up with fellow Marvel Comics heroes like Thor and the Incredible Hulk. "If this movie makes a lot of money," he said with a grin, "I might get to direct that."

But Favreau wouldn't go into detail on the rumored crossover appearances between characters in the Marvel films already planned, likening it to a burglar trying to rob a house, and silencing the guard dogs with juicy steaks. "I don't," he said, "want to run out of steaks."

Finally, Favreau reminded the audience that a new 90-second Iron Man trailer would air before this Thursday night's episode of Lost. He then showed a separate, two-and-a-half minute trailer that would run before 10,000 BC when it premieres in March.

(For the record, the funniest moment of the presentation occured when a young child asked Favreau what inspired him to make Iron Man. He quickly replied, "I was inspired by the box-office returns on Zathura.")

After his presentation, we had a chance to chat twice with Favreau, in a one-on-one video interview and a roundtable discussion with seveal other journalists. Be sure to check back soon for both of these intervews. And stay tuned this weekend for plenty more coverage of the films previewed at Wondercon, including the upcoming X-Files sequel!