The difference between an average superhero film and a super one really has a lot to do with its creative team, and coming from an independent background.

That's exactly where Jon Favreau is from, and now he's going to put that theory to the test with the upcoming "Iron Man" that opens Friday.

"If you look at the crop of superhero movies that are looking the most promising, like you've got Sam Raimi directing, Bryan Singer, Chris Nolan and even Peter Jackson [and] the Wachowski Brothers, if you lump them all in, you'll find that the people who were sort of rattling around the independent film circuit when I was, who've stepped up and worked on these big movies, have brought a lot of personality and quality to a genre that in the past has suffered, I think, from mediocrity," Favreau told Dark Horizons. "So I think that I sort of fit the bill, oddly, of the people that they're giving these opportunities to."

"Iron Man" stars Robert Downey Jr. as the Marvel action hero in what is the first attempt to bring this particular character to the big screen. And there's a reason for that, Favreau admits.

"I think the technology's there for 'Iron Man,' finally," Favreau said. "You may or may not know [but] I'm not a big fan of CGI, the way it's used normally. And I think that making a non-organic, hard surface, metallic character really stacked the deck in my favor when it came to photorealism and CGI."

It was the kind of work that missed a bit with "Transformers" but worked perfectly with "King Kong" from Peter Jackson, Favreau said.

This is a movie with star power ... just not the kind of star power many would think of.

"There was no pressure to cast anybody who was a star, because in these superhero films, they consider the character the star," Favreau said. "And the actors ... are more the supporting cast in their estimation. But I think Chris Nolan really opened the door for bringing a cast together that you would for any other movie. And you know, I think it made it more palatable for actors to be involved with a movie like this."

For the rest of the Dark Horizons interview, click here.

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