Jon Favreau, who directed 2008’s Iron Man and has Iron Man 2 on deck for a May 7 release, makes a strong case to be named helmer of 2012’s Avengers movie.

As he points out in an interview with Total Film (which Comic Book Movie picked up on), Iron Man set up particular sensibilities that films like Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America will echo—and are part of the shared universe approach Marvel Films is taking with its properties.

So if Iron Man 2 fails to carry the excitement established by its predecessor (as well as The Incredible Hulk, which featured a cameo by Iron Man actor Tony Stark), Favreau said it could jeopardize future films in the collective Marvel Universe. "Honestly, I'm the guy who's running, holding the torch, trying to get this story done," he said. "Since Marvel have committed to make the universe, Iron Man 2 does have a ripple effect into the other movies."

In the interview, Favreau also points out that the current group working on The Avengers is relatively small: Besides himself, there’s Kevin Feige and Jeremy Latcham, who regularly drop by to ask his opinion.
 "It's a small shop," he said. "They'll come by and talk to me about what's happening on the other projects and ask my opinion on things. They're working on The Avengers, Kevin's working on Thor and Captain America, so you're going to get a consistent vision throughout. But then you have to account for the filmmakers and Kenneth [Branagh, director of Thor] definitely has a different sensibility than me."

Still, as one might expect, Branagh’s Thor does start to marry the more mystical side of the Marvel Universe with the technological and scientific-based stuff in Iron Man, which opens the door for The Avengers. No director has been named for that film, although Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) has expressed interest in it. Personally, I think if Favreau is so deeply entrenched in Marvel Films' vision, he’s the only logical choice, but time will tell.

Meanwhile, Favreau said Iron Man 2 will feature a lot more of the character Nick Fury and the governmental agency he works for. "We deal a lot with Nick Fury in this one and S.H.I.E.L.D is much more of a presence," he said.