Jon Favreau, known to Marvel fans as Happy Hogan from the Iron Man and Spider-Man films, has been one of the founding figures for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only did he direct the very first film that launched the MCU, but he also has had a prominent position throughout Marvel Studios' history. However, how did Favreau land the job to direct Iron Man?

Just before Marvel Studios tapped Favreau for the job, he worked on Zathura: A Space Adventure, a long forgotten cult classic from the Jumanji franchise. In retrospect, Favreau's success at Marvel Studios has a direct connection to this very film.Zathura: A Space Adventure is an all-age sci-fi adventure that serves as a building block to Favreau's later success in Iron Man.

Here's How Jon Favreau Became Deeply Involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Some fans may only know Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's assistant in all the Iron Man films, who is also wrapped up in the plots of the Spider-Man films and even some Avengers movies. However, Favreau's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes way beyond that. Not only did he helm Iron Man and Iron Man 2, but he has also served as an executive producer for the most successful films in the MCU history, including Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame. However, Favreau started his journey with Marvel Studios even before the MCU existed.

Favreau became involved in Marvel projects when he was cast as Foggy Nelson in the Daredevil movie. He met Avi Arad, CEO and president of Marvel Studios at the time, who contacted Favreau years later when the opportunity of launching the cinematic universe came into the picture. Because of Favreau's success directing Elf and Zathura, Arad wanted him to direct the first Iron Man film. However, back then, Marvel Studios didn't have the budget they do now. Iron Man was a low-budget comic-book film. They couldn't reach out to any A-list movie stars in the industry due to limited funds. Robert Downey Jr. came on board to play the titular weapon designer, Tony Stark and was serious about playing the role of Iron Man. From there, they managed to get more actors on board. Robert Downey Jr. was really the glue that pulled everything together for the film. The studio knew that the film would be a hit, but they were expecting a modest box office number. However, Iron Man was a big hit at the box office, and the movie essentially changed the lives of Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. and even the studio. In an interview with EW, Favreau recalled the success of the first MCU film:

"Marvel anticipated that it would be a hit, but of much more modest box office number. Robert actually called out what it would make, which was close to double what they were expecting. It was really fun to be with him as he went from theater to theater and would jump out in front and introduce the film and surprise the audience. It was a wonderful moment, where his life changed, my life changed, and Marvel Studios went from a sort of dark horse that nobody expected to be relevant, to starting a path that culminated with The Avengers and bigger and bigger movies."

Favreau would go on to direct another Iron Man movie, but his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would change over the years. Instead of sitting in the director's chair, he'd be coaching others, sharing his thoughts and overseeing projects as they came together. "I'm a father, and there's one type of pride when you accomplish something, and there's another sense of pride that you feel as the next generation comes in and accomplishes something but yet honors the legacy of what you created," Favreau shared in the same interview. "I feel like a proud grandpa."

Zathura: A Space Adventure Landed Jon Favreau's MCU Debut Film, Iron Man

While Will Ferrell's Christmas classic Elf is really where Favreau began to shine as a director, the lesser known spin-off of Jumanji played an important role in landing Favreau the job of directing MCU's debut film. Zathura: A Space Adventure came out in 2005, just a year before Marvel Studios tapped him for the Iron Man film. Elf has not only become a cultural touchstone, but it also launched Favreau as a "magic worker" who created a $220 million hit at the box office with only a $33 million budget. With the record of Elf, Favreau was immediately the hottest director for any studio with a modest budget. However, one hit always runs the possibility of pure luck. In this case, with Favreau, his Jumanji spin-off proved his value to anyone who had even a remote doubt about his directing talent.

While Zathura wasn't as much a commercial success as it was critically acclaimed, the film is regarded as a forgotten cult classic in the Jumanji franchise. Not to mention, both Elf and Zathura are aimed at people of all ages, which isn't an easy thing, but Favreau had his own spin on the material. With his charm and wit, the director was able to make something very special that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Marvel Studios' vision for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is very similar. Even though Iron Man would still be aimed at older kids and adults due to its fan base of mostly comic book readers, the film required someone with the ability to pull it off from an all-age angle. Even Favreau himself admitted the importance of the two films in landing him the director's job for the first Iron Man movie.

Zathura's poor box office performance had little to do with Favreau's work. The lack of marketing support in the direct competition of two highly anticipated films with much more hype had a large affect on the numbers. Zathura opened a week after Chicken Little and a week before Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Many fans argued that Zathura could have been a family classic just like Elf if it wasn't for less than fortunate timing and marketing. Regardless of the film's box office performance, the film has been a long-loved classic for many. Many Jumanji fans believe that Favreau's spin-off is even better than the original Jumanji film.

Is Zathura: A Space Adventure Really a Jumanji Spin-off?

Zathura: A Space Adventure is based on the book Zathura by Jumanji author Chris Van Allsburg. The source material picked up from where the initial Jumanji left off and is regarded as the sequel. Jumanji revolves around the story of two siblings, Judy and Peter, who start to play a tabletop game called Jumanji and get sucked into the jungle world inside the game, where they try to revert the spell. 10 years later, Zathura: A Space Adventure took a sci-fi spin on the board game with a very similar premise. Instead of being sucked into a jungle world, the players find themselves in space, and they have to figure out a way to return home. Zathura is regarded as a standalone film and the official second installment in the Jumanji franchise. However, the film is rarely mentioned in relation to the franchise and mostly remains buried.

In fact, both Van Allsburg and Favreau discouraged fans from seeing the film as a direct sequel to Jumanji despite it being based on the Zathura novel, which is the sequel to Jumanji. "It's confusing because they're written by the same guy and they both share the motif of fantastic events emanating from a game," said Favreau in an interview following the film's release. He said, "Zathura has a very different sensibility, shares none of the same characters and takes place on the other side of the country. I don't want to mislead people to think this is a sequel." Van Allsburg echoed Favreau's sentiments and disapproved of Sony's marketing approach to billing the film as a Jumanji sequel, saying:

"I didn't think having a couple of different kids playing the same game would be all that interesting. Once you've seen a rhino stampede, it's not going to be that much different in someone else's house."

Jumanji was a box office hit with a swooping $262 million record worldwide in 1995. From a marketing standpoint, billing Zathura as a direct sequel gave the film a better edge, and in retrospect, despite some confusion, most Jumanji fans would regard the film as part of the franchise, though lesser known. The film stars a young Kristen Stewart, Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard and Tim Robbins and deserves much better recognition. Not only is it a cult classic, but the film also has tons of Easter eggs, with Favreau taking inspiration from other sci-fi and adventure films, such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Battle Beyond the Stars.