Iron Man 2

Jon Favreau planned Iron Man as the first in a trilogy, and signed on the original cast.[9] Favreau believed the sequel will allow a latitude in tone,[4] and explore darker story elements such as alcoholism, which he intentionally set aside from the first film.[2] Downey noted "the next one is about what do you do with the rest of your life once you've completely changed. [...] I think the drinking and all that stuff would be a good way to confront his age, to confront his doubts, to confront the fact that maybe Pepper gets a boyfriend." Downey and Favreau met with Shane Black, who suggested they Stark on Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.[93] Terrence Howard added this would be the manner in which his character would become War Machine, like in the comics, replacing Iron Man when Stark succumbed to alcoholism.[94] Favreau perceived depicting Iron Man's nemesis, the Mandarin, as a challenge, as he finds the use of the character as a metaphor for communism dated.[4] He did work references to the Mandarin into the first movie, primarily with the ist organization named the Ten Rings.[23]

The day after the film's opening weekend, Marvel Entertainment announced Iron Man 2.[95] Howard stated filming is set to begin in March 2009.[96] Justin Theroux is writing the script, which is based on a story written by Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr.[97] As of October 2008[update], the scheduled release date is May 7, 2010.[98] Favreau has revealed their version of the Mandarin "allows us to incorporate the whole pantheon of villains", while S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to have a major role. Their depiction of Stark's alcoholism will not be "the Leaving Las Vegas version". Adi Granov will return to supervise the armor designs.[99] As long as he is directing, Favreau will not introduce the Extremis armor, where Stark is able to store the armor underneath within his bone marrow, but the process of assembling the armor onto him will be continued to be streamlined.[57] Filming will primarily take place at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, California.[100]

In October 2008, The Hollywood Reporter stated Don Cheadle would replace Terrence Howard. Th journal explained many reasons, including Howard's salary, resulted in him dropping out.

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Shortie said:

ARGH! I hate Howard now for being a greedy rat!

Whatever, I hope Cheadle is good. I don't think I've seen him in anything. What's he been in?

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Actor Terrence Howard appeared in the NPR studio to talk about his debut album "Shine Through It" with Scott Simon for the Weekend Edition. Of course, Simon had to ask him about the recent news that Don Cheadle would be replacing him as James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the upcoming Marvel Studios sequel Iron Man 2.

That news (which has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios, who remains as mum as usual) took many fans of the summer's blockbuster hit by surprise since Howard played a large role in many fans' love for the movie, and just as many were excited to see Howard step into the iron suit of War Machine. After the announcement a few days ago, speculation ran rampant about why Howard wouldn't return, but on Simon's radio show, Howard said that he found out about the news the same way the rest of us did.

"It was the surprise of a lifetime," he said. "There was no explanation. [The contract] just...up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on, sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."

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If Nick Fury only has a few minutes during the actual movie we can already call the part exponentially bigger. While talking to IESB, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed not only the return of Fury to the sequel but news that we won't have to wait until after the credits to see him.

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Jackson replied that as a matter of fact, IRON MAN director Jon Favreau spoke to him at the Scream Awards last night, (dammit, IESB was there but neither of them walked the red carpet!), and Favreau told Jackson that Nick Fury would have a much more prominent role in the second one. Which honestly isn't hard to accomplish considering he was relegated to the end of the film with a very short cameo.

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TheMutt92 said:

The Ocean's trilogy, Hotel Rwanda,Crash, andTraitor among others. He's a good actor. But still... I'd rather see the role go back to Howard.

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ROBERT DOWNEY JR. AND JON FAVREAU SUIT UP FOR MARVEL STUDIOS' THE AVENGERS AND IRON MAN 2

As part of his four picture deal with Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr. is appearing as Tony Stark in THE AVENGERS motion picture, as well as reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character in IRON MAN 2. Jon Favreau will return to direct the sequel to the blockbuster IRON MAN, which to date has grossed over $578 million worldwide, as well as executive produce THE AVENGERS.

Academy Award® nominee Downey was most recently seen in the summer comedy blockbuster TROPIC THUNDER starring opposite Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Before Iron Man, he was best known for his film roles in KISS KISS BANG BANG, WONDER BOYS and CHAPLIN, the film for which he was nominated for an Oscar®.

In addition to directing the first IRON MAN, Favreau has previously directed ELF, ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE and MADE. He is also well known for writing and starring in SWINGERS. He will next be seen acting in FOUR CHRISTMASES, I LOVE YOU MAN and COUPLES RETREAT.

DON CHEADLE WILL STAR AS RHODEY IN IRON MAN 2

Marvel Studios is pleased today to confirm that an agreement has been finalized with award-winning actor Don Cheadle to take on the role of Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Marvel's IRON MAN 2 due in theaters on May 7, 2010. In casting Cheadle, Marvel replaces Terrence Howard who appeared in the role of Rhodey in IRON MAN.

Cheadle is also signed on to perform the same role in THE AVENGERS and subsequent installments of the IRON MAN franchise.

"We are very excited about working with the extraordinarily talented Don Cheadle as we expand the role of Rhodey in Iron Man 2. It has already become apparent as we prep the movie for production, that the dynamic between Robert and Don will take Iron Man 2 to new heights," said Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios.

Cheadle is best known for his Oscar® nominated lead performance in HOTEL RWANDA as well as his role as Basher Tarr in the OCEAN'S franchise, CRASH and SWORDFISH.

Based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero, IRON MAN 2 continues the story of this summer's box office blockbuster IRON MAN, the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Studios. IRON MAN 2 will be produced by Marvel Studios' President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart.

In a movie event, THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they've ever faced.

The highly anticipated sequel to IRON MAN will be released in theatres on May 7, 2010 and THE AVENGERS will be released July 15, 2011. Both films will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Cheadle is represented by UTA. Downey and Favreau are represented by CAA.

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Joe Brody said:

I'll be the first to acknowledge Cheadle's talent, but I've got to reserve judgment on switch. I don't think that he's the right man for the part.

Terrence Howard's performance was so plausible and pitch perfect -- that his presence was greater than his sceen-time but you didn't miss him when he wasn't there. He almost had a Sallah-like quality. Cheadle, on the other hand, I suspect of being a bit of a screen hog.

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Paden said:

That's interesting news about Robbins playing the senior Stark. I liked the article's acknowledgment regarding "serious" actors being drawn to comic book films.

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Mickey Rourke is in talks to play the bad guy in Iron Man 2. If that bit of info isn't enough, we've now found out who the bad guy is. According to Variety, the baddie is "Tony Stark's Russian alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit."

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That's the Crimson Dynamo, hands down. There have been TWELVE Crimson Dynamos in Iron Man's history, so the slate is pretty clean for this character. What's kind of cool is that current events have really served to make this character extraordinarily relevant again.

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So now that the villain is revealed, want to take a stab at guessing the storyline? Is it Armor Wars (even if the movie isn't an adaptation of that story, it's a good subtitle for the sequel)? Is it something more straight ahead - a business brawl turned physical? And what role will the Mandarin play here?

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