April
28 Foggy Nelson, director!

Marvel at long last attached some names to the slate of films it is self-financing, adding the long-in-development "Iron Man" to the mix with Jon Favreau in the director's chair.

Marvel also announced creatives attached to a "Hulk" sequel and other superhero pics including "Captain America," "Ant Man," "Thor" and "Nick Fury." All the films will be financed through a $525 million credit line Marvel established last year through Merrill Lynch, putting up theatrical rights to a slate of characters as collateral. The list has changed somewhat, with "Hulk" and "Thor" joining the mix. All the pics will distributed by Par except for "Hulk," which will go out through Universal, the studio that made the original Ang Lee pic.

Favreau's made a successful transition into directing with hits such as "Elf" and last summer's "Zathura." His relationship with Marvel includes playing Franklin "Foggy Nelson, attorney sidekick to Ben Affleck's Matt Murdock in the 2003 pic "Daredevil." Writing the script are Arthur Marcum and Matt Hollaway. "Iron Man" was in development at New Line with Nick Cassavetes set to direct, but Marvel took back the rights when the project stalled and the option expired.

The other names attached to projects are:

Screenwriter Zak Penn will write the "Hulk" sequel, tentatively called "Incredible Hulk." Penn has done plenty of work for Marvel, having worked on the scripts for "X2" and the upcoming "X-Men: The Last Stand," and "Elektra." He's also lent a hand to various Marvel movie-based videogames including "Fantastic Four" and an upcoming "X-Men" game.

David Self will write a script for "Captain America." Self's credits include "Thirteen Days" and "Road to Perdition." He's also been attached to a few other Marvel properties, including "Deathlok" and "Sub-Mariner."

Edgar Wright of "Shaun of the Dead" fame is set to tackle "Ant-Man," which will be more of a comedic take on superheroes. Wright is set to direct and co-write with Joe Cornish. He'll also co-produce the pic. Wright also is attached to direct "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little LIfe," based on the Oni Press comic by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Tackling Marvel superspy "Nick Fury" will be Andrew Marlowe, writer of "Air Force One" and "Hollow Man."

Mark Protosevich is set to script "Thor." The scribe of "The Cell" and the upcoming "Poseidon" has also been attached to "John Carter: Warlord of Mars."

Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad says "Iron Man" and "Hulk" are closest to starting production and could hit theaters in 2008.

What's clear from these announcements is that Marvel isn't messing around and rushing anything into production before it's ready. Favreau has an increasingly solid pedigree as a director; Penn and Self are well-respected for their work, though Self's credits are more cerebral than action-oriented; and Wright's got enough geek cred thanks to "Shaun" to make a film that could be both funny and appealing to comicbook fans.