(Credit: Eva Rinaldi)

Sun 28 September 2025 1:00, UK

If you total up the influence the famous guest stars of the TV show Friends have had on entertainment as a whole, the person who comes out on top bypasses Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt as Jon Favreau.

Favreau plays Monica’s boyfriend Pete in season three. You know, the rich guy who gets beaten to a pulp during an MMA fight and flies his dates to Rome? His impact as an actor may have been lost to the wind, but that all changed when he directed Iron Man and effectively created the globe-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe. Had he gotten this wrong, there would be no Avengers assembling, no galaxy guardians, no Eternals! Actually, that last one may have been a blessing in disguise…

The world of comic books made Favreau, and it turns out his love for science fiction goes much deeper than a man flying around in a metal onesie. Pre-Tony Stark, Favreau directed Zathura: A Space Adventure, an intergalactic sequel to Jumanji. Once in bed with the ‘House of Mouse’, he was placed in charge of The Mandalorian, a wildly successful spin-off from the Star Wars franchise. Favreau is set to direct the movie The Mandalorian and Grogu in 2026. He did also make Cowboys & Aliens, a film most people, including star Harrison Ford, would like to forget.

In an interview with Goop (yes, that Goop), Favreau revealed several of his favourite films. In a list that also included Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, the documentary Vision of Light, and the animated children’s film Kung Fu Panda, he also made space for the 1973 movie Westworld. “Directed by Michael Crichton. Great concept. Great violence,” he said, “Yul Brynner created the paradigm for Jason [Voorhees] and The Terminator”.

Though best known for penning the novel Jurassic Park and a bunch of other books turned less-successful films, Crichton has taken a few swipes at the director’s chair, too. Westworld was based on his script about a futuristic amusement park designed to look like a town in the Wild West, where Yul Brynner plays a hyper-realistic android called The Gunslinger who malfunctions into hunting down the park guests and unleashing a bloodbath. His emotionless, relentless performance is what Favreau likened to the hockey mask-wearing killer and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s futuristic murder machine.

Though not particularly revered upon its release, Westworld gathered a strong cult following. The aforementioned Arnie is a big fan and almost starred in a remake of the film that was due to be directed by Quentin Tarantino. As you’ve probably figured out, it served as the basis for the popular HBO series of the same name, which ran between 2016 and 2022. The show became so popular that most people under the age of 50 probably don’t even know it was based on a movie.

With Favreau being a self-confessed fan of the film, you can draw a direct line from Westworld to the rise of the MCU. Who knew that the guy from The King and I dressed like a cowboy would one day result in Vin Diesel playing a tree?

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