Shane Black is in a really good place. The filmmaker began his career in the 1980s writing movies like Lethal Weapon and The Monster Squad and remained in that field for years before making his directorial debut with 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which starred Robert Downey Jr.

That paved the way for him to direct the actor in Iron Man 3, which has already made $711 million worldwide. Now Black can basically do whatever he wants for his next project.

Deadline reports he'll return to the long-gestating Doc Savage that Sony Pictures secured the director for just Tuesday. Black co-wrote the current version of the script with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry. All three are also working on the adaptation of Death Note.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be building a franchise from the ground up with Shane and this team,” said Hannah Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures. “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.”

Doc Savage debuted in The Doc Savage Magazine in 1933 before moving on to the worlds of radio drama, comic books and movies. This will be the first film starring the character since 1975's Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Doc was last seen as part of DC Comics' First Wave line of books that reintroduced the super-scientist and other pulp heroes.