After making his name on indie cult hits like Swingers and Made, director Jon Favreau heads into big time blockbuster territory with the comic book adaptation Iron Man.

Does Marvel have a lot of hands-on involvement with the film? Is it difficult at all working with them?
"It's a very small infrastructure within the Marvel Studio system. And they're people who have made movies before, and they're really attentive, and they know the source material well. They feel very emphatic about certain things, and then there are certain things where they give you a tremendous amount of creative freedom. And most of what they're concerned about is things like that the action is satisfying, that the film is appropriate for all ages, that parents can bring their children, and they like you to be careful about language. I share that sensibility as well from being a parent. I haven't really felt confined in any way. But of course they want a say in the cast, and they want to make sure that the action is interesting and exciting enough, and that it lives up to what people's expectations are. But when it comes to the actual scene work for the contents of the film, they gave me a tremendous amount of freedom."

Did you have to fight to get Robert Downey Jr. cast? He's an unconventional pick.
"It was a difficult part of the process, because I think they would have preferred somebody that would be defined by the role, whereas Robert is sort of defining the film. He has a very strong presence, and he has a very big presence. Everybody is very well aware of who he is. There's a lot of history there and that history informs the film. Marvel wanted to make sure that they were choosing the right person; I think maybe they would've liked somebody younger. Younger is usually better when it comes to casting. It certainly helps if you're hoping to launch a franchise; you want somebody who's gonna be around for a while and be, you know, sexy and a leading man into the next decade. I felt very strongly that Robert could fulfil that. And I really felt strongly that Robert would be embraced in this role, and it's very true to how Tony Stark is presented in the comic books. So, I made a strong case for it, and Robert ultimately got on film and did some scenes and from that moment on, there was no question that he was the guy."

Are you signed on for any sequels?
"I'm not signed on for anything beyond this one, but thankfully this is the type of franchise where, if it works, in this genre of film, they tend to wanna try to preserve the same team, plus it's not like you get a script and you shoot and it comes out the same. So much of it is handcrafted and so much of it was the collaboration between me and the studio and the actors that I have no doubt that, if this is successful, we'll figure out a way that we'll all work together on the next one."

Do you have any idea about what you'd like to do in a sequel?
"You have a lot more room in the second one, because people have made up their mind about the tone and whether or not they like the film. You'll see a trend, where the first movie tends to be a little bit more restrained than the second or third in a series, because you first have to prove to the audience that they're gonna like the movie. But more importantly, you have to show the parents that it's appropriate for the children. There was a lot of stuff done in the final Star Wars film which was pretty graphic, and it's a brilliant film. But by then the parents had made up their mind that it's okay for their kids to be there. And you see that X-Men got a little heavier. Spider-Man got a little racier as far as the sexuality goes. So we'll be able to explore themes in the sequel that we weren't really able to explore that heavily here."

Would you do anything with the famous Demon In The Bottle book, which deals with Tony Stark's struggles with alcoholism? Would that be a consideration?
"I tip my hat to it in this film, you know? I showed him as a guy who always had a drink in his hand, and he clearly had a relationship with alcohol beyond what you would see with a normal superhero. I think that the interesting thing is going to be how it wasn't about him walking onto the scene as an alcoholic; it was about him facing all these struggles that were associated with this new persona that he adopted. And what pressure he was feeling being a superhero and that alcohol was being used to cope with it much like somebody who becomes an alcoholic while serving on a battlefield. You know, facing these superhuman obstacles, and to explore the real human cost to what he's facing would see him escaping into an addiction."

How do you feel about all the attention on the internet? Has that bothered you?
"They've been very generous with me and I can't one day thank the fan base on the internet for bringing this character from b-level obscurity to one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, and then in the same breath say, 'I wish they weren't so nosey.' It means that people care about the movie as much as I do, but sometimes it makes you change the way you present your material to the audience because you wanna keep it fresh and you don't want them to be ahead of you."

Iron Man is released on May 1.