When is non-news news? Today, in the form of director Jon Favreau stating he won’t be directed the planned Marvel team-up film, The Avengers.

MTV Splashpage caught up with Favreau at the Bora Bora-located press junket for his written/starring film Couples Retreat, and quizzed him about Iron Man 2 and The Avengers film. Favreau confirms Ed Norton’s previous comments about his Hulk character not making an appearance in Iron Man 2, as well as stating “They’ll have to [find a different director for 'Avengers'], because I’m not going to be available. It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”

“It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of ‘Iron Man’ and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with ‘Avengers’ you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of ‘Thor.’ How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.”

“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.’”

This news doesn’t come as a complete surprise, I guess. We’ve only seen two of these Marvel films that’ll lead into The Avengers (Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk), and Favreau’s was the first out of the gate, so naturally the fanboy community latched onto him. He ought to be commended for realizing his limits and taking a backseat role. The question now is whether The Avengers director will be someone who’s taken on one of those solo parts (The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America) or if Marvel brings in someone new entirely with the ability to combine all elements.

See the video interview below:

Last night, TV’s “Entertainment Tonight” aired a five-minute segment about their visit to the set of Iron Man 2. Most of the filming appears to have been taking place during the racetrack scene (which you’ve not doubt seen pictures of by now) and the appearance of Mickey Rourke in his Whiplash garb.

Interviews abound with Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. Don Cheadle gets to answer one question…about Scarlett Johansson. Nobody would accuse “ET” of having journalistic integrity. Sadly, no Rourke camera time is had. On a positive note, Downey continues to transform himself into what’s probably the most likable personality in Hollywood. Just years ago, I hated the guy with a passion. A “Tonight Show” joke from the 1996 Summer Olympics, will always stick with me: “Another world record was broken today, Robert Downey Jr. was arrested for the 317th time.” Downey has put in a lot of work to climb back on top and I’m happy he’s the soul of this franchise. I don’t think anybody could do it like he can. Enjoy the video.

“Ghostface, check the blast of a hype verse, my glock burst, leave in a hearse, I done worse, I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk.”  Those are the infamous words of Ghostface Killah, the first voice heard on the classic hip-hop album “Wu-Tang Clan: Enter the 36 Chambers.”  Ghost is known as an avid fan of the Marvel comic character Iron Man.  He named his first solo album “Ironman” and has assumed the nickname Tony Starks as his alter-ego persona for more than a decade.  After meeting Robert Downey Jr. on the set of 1999’s Black and White, director James Toback’s (Tyson) early look at race relations, RDJ had wanted Ghost to appear in the original Iron Man film.  This actually became one of the more anticipated elements of the movie for me.  But alas, after seeing the film, he was nowhere to be found.  Ghost did in fact show up, on the cutting room floor, making the deleted scenes of the DVD.  Ghost played a Dubai tycoon rolling thick with the ladies who welcomed Downey’s Starks at a party.  I would love to see more of him in Iron Man 2, but it doesn’t appear likely that such a thing is going to happen.  GFK tells MTV:

“I don’t know about this new Iron Man sh*t. They didn’t call me, so I’m not in it,” he said, adding that he’s not upset about what took place during the first movie. “I got paid last time, though,” he laughed. “I got 30Gs last time.“

Some have seen this some as outlandish.  To me, it’s actually a pretty good deal for all parties.  Ghost’s involvement was well worth every penny and I would enjoy it if he came back for the sequel, but it is highly unlikely to happen unless his role expanded by offering up some sort of services through financial backing or the like.  The unfinished scene is below, Ghost makes his appearance at 1:40 mark or so.  I mean, honestly, the guy was in the scene for all of 30 seconds….how does he not get an Oscar nod?  I’m calling the Academy to complain about Dame Judi Dench again, this is an outrage!

Robert Downey Jr., star of Iron Man, it’s sequel and Sherlock Holmes has long been attached to another comic book property Cowboys And Aliens.  However, it seems that the collaborative partnership he has had with actor/director Jon Favreau will now extend to another property, with Favs coming on board to direct Robert in the new film.  The Heat Vision blog breaks it down:

Downey has been attached to the DreamWorks project since last summer, when “Iron Man” co-screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were working on the adaptation of the Platinum Comics graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley.

Last fall, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are executive producers on the project, took over scripting with “Lost” exec producer Damon Lindelof.

And now Favreau, who is riding a killer wave as an actor, writer and director, has come on to make it his next gig.

True to its title, the sci-fi Western explores what would happen if traditional Old West enemies, cowboys and American Indians, found the prairie attacked by aliens in mid-1800s Arizona. Long in development, the “Aliens” project was originally set up at Columbia with “Sahara” writers Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Donnelly writing.

This is pretty big news considering the said wave that both of these men have been riding for some time now, since the success of last year’s surprise smash Iron Man.  Favs is currently in post on Iron Man 2,  will next be seen in Couples Retreat (our full preview coming soon) with his good buddy Vince Vaughn and RDJ has been as busy as they come with his full slate of films in the last two years.  The fact that both are still going to be rolling along in more comic book property films bodes well for fans, especially considering they are still taking time to get into other roles as actors.  While I am in the minority on the huge praise that Iron Man received (I thought it was above average but not superior due to a feeble ending battle scene), I think that the vast majority will be enthralled by this news.  Do tell if that’s the case.  I am a fan of both actors and remain optimistic about their future projects together or apart.

There are a couple of new pics for upcoming films I thought you’d be eager to check out, so rather than separating them into different posts, I figured I’d hit you with both at one time.

Iron Man 2 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films for next year and we last brought you a pic of Mickey Rourke as main baddie, Whiplash. Up to this point, I don’t believe we’ve seen Scarlett Johansson sporting the hair color her first-name would suggest, as the character Black Window.

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly features a spread of Iron Man 2’s cast of Robert Downey Jr., Rourke and Johansson on its cover for their Comic Con preview. Below is that cover and a photo of Johansson doing her thing in costume.

Not to be outdone, though, we have a couple of new pics, courtesy of Filmsactu.com, from Wes Anderson’s upcoming Fantastic Mr. Fox. Last week, we brought you an image that wasn’t of the highest caliber. Here, the picture has been expanded like full-screen to wide-screen, plus a solo shot of the George Clooney-voiced Mr. Fox. Enjoy.

It’s time for some of our good friends of the world of film news, rumor and innuendo, to join us this week. Concrete statements and absolute truths and few are far between today, so we thought we’d catch you up on the latest quasi-news for the past week. Some, you’ll undoubtely enjoy more than others, but we’re bringing them here to you in one sloppy mess. Lap it up.

Apparently a script is being written where two vastly different worlds would collide. That of Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. The story is currently entitled Mother’s Curse and is a road-comedy of sorts. I assume we should think Harold & Kumar-esque. Sounds weird, but that’s the talk as of now. [Hit Fix]

Jessica Biel is rumored to be in talks to star in the upcoming Marvel Comics adapation of Thor, opposite Chris Hemsworth. There are a few possibilities as to which character she would play. One is Thor’s girlfriend (always a stretch), Sif, an Asgardian warrior, or The Enchantress, who assists Thor’s nemisis, Loki. [Nuke The Fridge]

Even though I told you it was rumor day, I hesitate to post such a preposterous story, but supposedly Heath Ledger tried to sabotage The Dark Knight by overacting. Absurd, I know. Don’t hate me. Hate along with me. The story claims to be taken from “Vanity Fair” and allegedly quotes Ledger’s agent. I call BS and so can you. I’m sure it was a matter of miscommunication as the “VF” article doesn’t actually quote the agent, but rather paraphrases him. [Worst Previews]

See Sam Jackson explain why his character, Nick Fury, doesn’t appear in Iron Man 2. Read my explanation of why I’m not in Iron Man 2 – I don’t act. [MTV Splashpage]

Jackie Earle Haley, awesome in anything he does, informed [Bloody Disgusting] that he’s signed on for three A Nightmare on Elm Street films as Freddy Krueger. That’s two more after the one that just finished shooting. Haley, combined with Patrick Wilson, Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly for Little Children made for an acting powerhouse.

Bill Nighy, awesome in the BBC miniseries “State of Play,” will have a role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After seeing the trailer for …and the Half-Blood Prince in IMAX last weekend, I was amazed, but still won’t see it. [The Leaky Cauldron]

The homeboy Leo Spitz, played by Ramon Rodriguez, such a worthless character I didn’t mention him in my review, from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen may have a bigger role in film number three. Would you have cared for him more or less if he was played by Jonah Hill as originally offered? [Hero Complex]

Disney’s return to 2-D animation after being resurrected by John Lassetter, The Princess and the Frog, has a few featurettes on the making of the film for your perusal. [Latino Review]

Finally, here’s nine seconds of video for you of Spike Jonze working on VFX for Where the Wild Things Are. Please note after viewing the video that I told you it was only nine seconds long. [Mark Romanke's Posterous]

Here is the first photo of Mickey Rourke in character as Whiplash in Iron Man 2.  It was widely publicized that Rourke had intentions of turning down the role at first, due to a lack of money, but we can officially put all that to rest with this first pic of him in full regalia.  Can’t really say much from this photo alone, but the Iron Man sequel is one of the most anticipated films of next year.  Chime in with your thoughts of the pic that conjures images of Mad Max.

Hey everybody, so Las Vegas is hosting the Licensing International Expo this year. It’s a marketplace for properties where exhibitors hobnob with licensing experts to help get the most exposure for their products. Apparently Hollywood studios attend this thing every year, but this is the first time I recall hearing about it. Anyway, AICN has a spy taking pics of all the new posters debuting at the show. They’re not perfect quality, which is why we’re not featuring them in our poster section just yet, but you can at least get your first peak about what they’ll be like when they are officially released.

Here is a list of the attached posters:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Iron Man 2

Thor

The First Avenger: Captain America

Avengers

Spider-Man 4

DreamWorks’ Oobermind

Shrek Forever After (which I guess is replacing the title Shrek Goes Fourth)

DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon

Johnny Depp’s Rango

Steve Carrell’s Despicable Me

You can also click on any of them for higher resolution.

Let us know which one you like best. I think I’m partial to Scott Pilgrim, as I think the colors are attractive and I like the hand-drawn style.

Here with our weekly Wednesday news recap, we decide to start off familiarly with some comic book news. Kenneth Branaugh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Thor seems to have cast its two primary characters. Thor himself is to be played by 25-year-old Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, whom you probably saw for the first time in Star Trek, as James T. Kirk’s father. [Deadline Hollywood]

Branaugh also found a foe for Hemsworth in British actor Tom Hiddleston to portray Thor’s nemesis, Loki. Hiddleston is even less known than Hemsworth, but both will be blowing up come May 20, 2011. [The Moving Picture]

From comics to board games (the latest craze for some very unknown reason) comes the news that director Peter Berg (Hancock) is looking to turn Battleship into a feature film. This craze hasn’t actually materialized in a film just yet, but I’m curious to see what the result will be. I honestly can’t imagine all these things will continue to be greenlit after the first one comes out. [Film-o-filia]

George Clooney is set to star in A Very Private Gentleman, about an assassin who hides out in a quaint village and ends up developing relationships with the townsfolk, doing his best to conceal his identity. Assassin movies are always cool. Clooney is always great. I’m sure the marriage of the two will be something to behold. [Celluloid Tongue]

Check out some concept art of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in the upcoming Iron Man 2, courtesy of [New Film Dimension]. I think it looks kinda cool.

I didn’t think we needed another Grimm-related film after the atrocity that was The Brothers Grimm, but that’s what we’re getting with Grimm, which Bruce Willis is helping deliver to us. [Latino Review]

Lastly, we leave you with some Ghostbusters 3 news in which Dan Aykroyd states he wants Eliza Dushku (”Dollhouse”) and Alyssa Milano (”Who’s the Boss”) to be the new team of people who bust ghosts. WHAT? [Rama's Screen]