Rourke and Rockwell are the Iron Man 2 Villains!
Source:The Hollywood Reporter, Variety January 7, 2009

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon) are in talks to star as the villains in Marvel Studios' Iron Man 2, being directed by Jon Favreau from a script by Justin Theroux, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

THR says that Rourke would play a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils. Variety adds that Rourke would play the Crimson Dynamo. "He's considered to be an evil version of Iron Man because he battles the superhero in a nuclear-powered suit of armor," says the trade.

Rockwell would play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, being played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.

Rourke and Rockwell would be joining a cast that also includes the returning Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, who is replacing Terrence Howard.

Another part -- one for Stark's assistant Natasha -- is still open.

The project is eyeing a spring start in Manhattan Beach. Paramount will release the movie May 7, 2010.


Tim Robbins is Tony Stark's Father in "Iron Man 2"

LatinoReview is reporting that Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption) will be playing Tony Stark's father Howard Stark in the upcoming "Iron Man" sequel. Robbins will appear in an important flashback sequence that will set up "The Avengers" and "The First Avenger: Captain America."

Back in September "Iron Man" screenwriter Mark Fergus revealed that the relationship between Tony Stark and his father will be explored much further in the sequel. "Tony was a young adult or a teenager when his father died and that relationship will be played up in a lot of cool ways in other Marvel movies," he said, adding that in "Iron Man 2" "the relationship will definitely be explored a lot further."

In addition to the father, the site added that both Hawkeye and Black Widow will also make appearances in the movie. And they won't be cameos.