Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau has confirmed with MTV that, along with The Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton not being involved in the film (despite a post-credits Iron Man sequence suggesting that The Hulk will appear in Iron Man 2), Favreau himself will not be directing The Avengers. He stated simply, "I'm not going to be available," although he will be an executive producer on the film.

He did not say, though, that The Hulk will not be in the movie. It's possible that the character will appear played by another actor or, if he's present only in Hulk form, solely computer-rendered . In fact, it's likely that the latter of these possibilities will be the case. If The Hulk is in the Iron Man sequel, he will be there as a rogue for Iron Man to rein in. Under such circumstances, there may not be much place for Bruce Banner (The Hulk's human form).

As far as the Avengers movie goes, Favreau stated that he is so caught up with the individual character of Iron Man that it is probably for the best that he is not directing The Avengers. He told MTV, "You need somebody who has the perspective of all the different franchises to bring them together. I have the myopic vision of just knowing and loving Iron Man."

None of this is huge news, but it does confirm, along with Norton not appearing in Iron Man 2, that The Avengers is not going to be tightly focused on any certain character. This is not at all surprising, as an Avengers movie is almost certain to bank on action and the allure of multiple superheroes to sell tickets; however, the risk is that it will end up being too watered-down, resulting in a slew of characters who are there only to serve action sequences. Of course, this is all just advance speculation, but the possibilities for mindlessness will create a rather tempting trap for whoever does end up directing the movie.

We have embedded MTV's interview with Favreau below: