London, July 29 - Director Jon Favreau has confirmed a third 'Iron Man' film by 2012.

The filmmaker who directed the first movie and is working on the second in the superhero franchise refused to confirm a timeframe for the project, but hinted it could be completed before syperhero spin-off 'The Avengers', which is due to be released in 2012, reports contactmusic.com.

'There's an 'Iron Man 3'. Here's how I know. When they make the option deals, they include 'Iron Man 3'. So I know they're planning on making another one,' said Favreau.

'Whether that would be before or after 'The Avengers' I don't know. They've announced that 'The Avengers' is next but they pushed it back once, which I thought was encouraging,' he added.