Iron Man 3 Director Shane Black To Direct 'Doc Savage'

Iron Man 3 director, Shane Black will co-write and direct "Doc Savage."

President of Columbia Pictures Doug Belgrad and Colombia Pictures production President Hannah Minghella announced Tuesday, May 7^th that Black would direct the film as his follow up to the superhero movie "Iron Man 3." Minghella said, "We couldn't be more excited to be building a franchise from the ground up with Shane and this team. Shane and Neal have a fantastic understanding of the character and a great take on the material and we can't wait to get this production up and running."

Black co-wrote the screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, based on the hero of pulp novels, films, and comic books. Neal H. Moritz is producing the project with Ori Marmur through his Original Film banner. Michael Uslan will also serve as producer on the film.

Doc Savage was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic at Street and Smith Publications, with additional material contributed by the series' main writer, Lester Dent. He was popularized on radio, film and television. The character is described as a scientist, physician, adventurer, inventor and explorer. Savage was trained since birth to be nearly superhuman in every way, with almost superhuman strength, a photographic memory, and vast knowledge and intelligence. The pulp adventures influenced many comic book series to come, including Superman.

Black most recently co-wrote and directed "Iron Man 3" which grossed more than $700 million since opening and scored the second highest opening of all time in the US. He previously wrote and directed "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" which also starred Robert Downey Jr.

Sam Dickerman and Lauren Abrahams are overseeing the title for Columbia Pictures along with Minghella. No details on who will play Doc Savage have been revealed. The studio executives also failed to announce when they were aiming to release the film.