In a most unexpected, but totally awesome piece of news, it has officially been announced that Shane Black has been hired as director for Iron Man 3. Anyone who knows me well knows what a huge Shane Black fan I am, so needless to say, this news has greatly increased my anticipation for the film. Black is one my personal favourite screenwriters, who broke into the business at age 23 by writing Lethal Weapon. He would eventually become the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood by penning some of my favourite action films, including The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight, and even made the occassional acting appearance, most notably as Hawkins the radio man in Predator. After being paid a whopping $4 million for his Long Kiss Goodnight script, Black pretty much faded into obscurity for nine years before returning to make his directorial debut with the hugely underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The film has gained a very devoted cult following, but unfortunately, it completely tanked at the box office, so Black pretty much disappeared again for five more years until this news about Iron Man 3. I really hope that Black also has a hand in the screenplay for the film since I’ve always loved his gift for witty, cynical dialogue and hilariously quirky characters. Of course, it will also be great to see him reunite with his Kiss Kiss Bang Bang star, Robert Downey Jr., as that film was a major step forward in Downey’s transition from drug addict to one of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now. Here’s hoping that Tony Stark gets to do scenes like this: