The Hulk and Iron Man games by Secret Level weren’t that bad in retrospect and if nothing else they sold exceedingly well. Which is why we find ourselves going through another development cycle with Iron Man 2.
However hopeful you may be about this game, it is worrying that it’s being played on a fithteen inch TV about five meters up in the air. For what you can see of the game it’s hard to tell that it’s not just the original Iron Man, but here’s hoping.
Back to Entertainment Weekly and Iron Man II–and this issue kind of puts the net (if only for a moment) in our place (like remember when Empire’s print issue gave the lowdown on everything a couple months back?). Fans practiced a form of e-ladies first by rushing for the Scarlett Jo Black Widow pic, but there was also a look at Don Cheadle as Rhodey (taking over for Howard), Gwyenth Paltrow, and Sam Rockwell.
Iron Man II is once again being directed by Jon Favreau and returns Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow while adding Don Cheadle (taking over the role that Terrence Howard played in the last film) and Mickey Rourke.
The first Iron Man blasted Robert Downey Jr. back to stardom, and the superhero franchise is readying to return to the big screen on May 7, 2010. Iron Man will battle new villain Mickey Rourke, size up Scarlett Johansson (exclusive photo of ScarJo as Black Widow, after the jump!), and, hopefully, prove that the success of the first movie wasn’t a fluke. Downey knows the movie isn't an underdog this time around. "There are a lot more invisible eyes on us now," he says.
When Marvel Studios first announced the sequel, no one was sure what the movie would be about. Downey, director Jon Favreau, screenwriter Justin Theroux, and the rest of the creative team struck upon the idea of introducing two very different foes for Stark. On one side is Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a fast-talking weapons manufacturer who fancies himself the next Tony Stark; on the other, Vanko, who, while incarcerated in a Russian prison, creates his own battle-suit, which shoots devastating, whip-like beams. Hammer and Whiplash join forces to take down Downey’s character, Tony Stark. Rourke, for his part, wanted to instill some lightness into the role of the heavy. "I told Favreau, 'I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----,'" he says. "He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I’m making my suit."
Just as the deals were being hammered out, Terrence Howard -- who had played Stark’s best friend -- fell out of the sequel in a public salary dispute. The role was re-cast, with Don Cheadle stepping in. "We had to make some tough deals," says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. "When they got public, you go, 'That sucks. Okay, you want a peek behind the curtain? Here you are!'" Says Cheadle, "Terrence and I couldn’t be more different. We address it head-on in the movie in one exchange. We're not trying to fool people." (Cheadle admits he didn’t know much about Marvel’s superhero before the first movie came out: "I always thought Iron Man was a robot.")
Adding more flesh and blood to the new movie, Scarlett Johansson joined the cast as Stark’s mysterious new assistant, Natasha, who has an alter ego of her own, Black Widow. That introduction inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. "The men want it to be, like, 'Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,' but it's not as standard as that," says Paltrow. "There's a weird male catfight fantasy. Downey agrees. He believes what differentiates the franchise from other superhero series can be summarized as follows: "We're horny. Not, like, can't-bring-your-kids horny, but just…horny."
The question remains whether Iron Man 2 will soar like the first film or show signs of rust when it hits theaters. "People are going to be more critical," says Downey. "That’s their prerogative….In a way, there's no way to win, except to win. Big."
For more on Iron Man, as well as a first look at the hottest movies and TV shows heading to Comic-Con, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday July 17.
Big thaks to this site.
Director Jon Favreau has been very clear that Iron Man is the start of his trilogy - “I’ve got another 2 movies in my head; I’m ready to go.” All the stars are signed for Iron Man 2. So what direction is the sequel going to go in?
Iron Man’s main nemesis in the comics is Manderin, a descendent of Genghis Khan who wears ten alien rings, each with their own special ability. As long time fans will have noticed, Manderin’s presence is foreshadowed in the first film - the terrorists who kidnap Stark are called the ‘Ten Rings’. Favreau wants to see Manderin emerge from the shadows, but whether that’s for the 2nd or 3rd movie is unknown.
One character we will see in Iron Man 2 is War Machine. Not only does Rhodes look at the Iron Man outfit during the first film and say “Next time baby,” but actor Terrence Howard has stated - “In the next one they make a suit for me and I become War Machine.”
How does he end up in it? “The beautiful thing about Marvel,” Howard says “Is that they’ve always stuck with the tradition of staying truthful to the comics.” - In the comics, Tony Stark turned to alcoholism after a hostile takeover of Stark Enterprises, and Rhodes was forced to take his place in the Mark III suit. But, in the same way as would happen if you borrowed a friend’s underpants, Rhodes soon got headaches, started behaving erratically and eventually went on a rampage. A recovering Stark then donned a crude prototype suit to bring him down. Stark subsequently designed a heavier-armed version of the Iron Man suit for Rhodes, which became known as the War Machine armor.
So Tony Stark, it seems, is going to hit the booze. Here’s what Favreau had to say: “Once people accept Iron Man, we have a lot of latitude tonally as to what we can do. If you look at Dark Knight, it’s very dark but people accept it, or Revenge of the Sith, it’s very dark but people brought their kids. This first film is about teaching them who these characters are… The alcoholism, the Demon In A Bottle, it sort of feels a little like Spiderman 3.”
Eek Spiderman 3.
And what about alien dragon Fing Fang Foom?
“I’m writing a comic book now with Adi Granov,” says Favreau “Where Fin Fang Foom is the bad guy. That’s what I want to see, but I don’t know if I want that in the movie right now. Eventually I’d love to get to the point where the movie could accept that and you could develop a reality where that could work.”
Expect that to be stuffed into Iron Man 4 once Favreau has gone, perhaps.
“We still haven’t moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He’s still just kind of a talker.”
This "rationing" of Jackson might have to do with the terms of the 9 picture deal he signed with Marvel films. (Pure speculation.) Perhaps, the idea was to have Nick Fury play a kind of "puppet-master" behind the scenes for the majority of his film appearances, making the plot of the Iron Man/Avengers-related films move forward.
Jackson first played the role in a hidden, post-credits scene in the first Iron Man film, where he waits at Tony Stark's home to discuss "The Avengers Initiative." (In a scene that still sends fanboy chills.) Due to the way the scene came across, it was generally assumed that he would fighting alongside Iron Man in the sequel against whatever threat would present itself. That, however, does not seem to be the case, as Fury will likely be a man who simply makes things happen. (Presumably assembling the new Avengers team.) Further strengthening this speculation, Jackson also seemed to imply that his role in the film would be minimized to merely two scenes. In the interview, he stated that "both" of his scenes are with Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
When asked if the action would hopefully come in The Avengers, Jackson replied, "looking forward to that, yeah." So, it seems fans will have to wait a while longer to see Nick Fury kicking ass and making evil supervillains look like 10-year-old girls in sundresses.
What do you think about this? Good or disappointing news?
Slowly we have been showing you more and more pictures of Jon Favreau’s upcoming Iron Man 2. Today, thanks to comingsoon, we have learned that Road & Track Magazine has a photo of Tony Stark’s GP racer from the film. The race car is a package of blue greatness and it look so tiny.
Take a look after the jump…
The magazine says:
This is the Stark Industries-sponsored vintage race car that the movie’s main protagonist — genius inventor and swashbuckling lady’s man Tony Stark — will be driving in a scene that depicts him racing in the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, a vintage race held in Monte Carlo. The scene is not being filmed on the actual streets of the tiny, glamorous seaside principality near the south of France, but on an elaborate set that replicates the Monaco circuit.
So far we have seen some pictures of Whiplash, Robert Downey Jr. in a donut, and them on an Air Force Base. It seems like they’re covering all their bases.
Iron Man 2 is currently filming and due to hit theaters in May of 2010.
