Iron Man 2 News

Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau participated in a live chat at the Los Angeles Times yesterday.

During it, the director answered a slew of questions from fans of the movie, mostly centered on the sequel. Here are highlights:

On the antagonist in Iron Man 2: "We're playing with who the villain should be and what we should incorporate from the comic book. And how it will lead into the Avengers."

Plot of the sequel: "The sequel is shaping up to incorporate Tony's vision for the future. What happens after he says 'I am Iron Man?'"

Iron Man 2 plot details are being worked out as we type.

On focus as a director: "I focus mostly on story and character. I put a great value on emotion, humor and natural dialogue. The effects are fun to explore in original ways, but without a strong story, they mean nothing."

Will we see War Machine: "We need War Machine. Agreed. Shoulder cannons and all."

The future for Tony Stark: "Stark has issues with booze. That's part of who he is. I don't think we'll ever do the Leaving Las Vegas version, but it will be dealt with."

According to Variety director Michael Bay will film at least three action set pieces using IMAX cameras for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

But that won't be the only significant sequel to use such technology.

The publication also said that Jon Favreau has considered using IMAX cameras for shots in Iron Man 2.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens June 26, 2009, while Iron Man 2 is on pace for a May 7, 2010 release.

In a recent interview with ComingSoon.net, Jon Favreau made it clear that his focus is on both Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3.

The director spoke with the movie site as part of his publicity tour for the upcoming Iron Man DVD release, set for Sept. 30. Here's what we learned from Favreau:

- Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are all on board for Iron Man 2. Favreau will also be back on screen, as well as behind the camera, with a (possibly expanded) role as Happy Hogan.

- Mandarin, a classic nemesis of Iron Man in comic book lore, will be the main antagonist in one of the follow-ups. This is an Asian crimelord who sports ten powerful ring weapons (alluded to in the first film through references to the terrorist cell the Ten Rings).

- The most well-known storylines from the comic book series – "Demon in a Bottle," in which Tony Stark becomes an alcoholic, and Jim Rhodes takes over the role and armor of Iron Man during Stark's recovery – are expected to be included, possibly both in the second sequel. Howard's role in the first movie was not as expansive as originally intended; Favreau plans to rectify that.

In a new interview with The Los Angeles Times, Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau didn't reveal anything too groundbreaking regarding the sequel. But any news on this wildly-anticipated follow-up is worth mentioning.

While there hasn't been an formal announcement on the sequel to Iron Man, Favreau has begun developing it.

"We're working on it now, which hasn't been officially announced. It will be released in 2010," the director told the newspaper.

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures are targeting a release date of April 30, 2010. That would ensure that the blockbuster kicked off that summer.

Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) is writing the script and in addition to Robert Downey Jr., the first film's co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are expected to return.

It's a day of news about sequels, as we've already provided insight about Transformers 2 and Goonies 2.

Now, Robert Downey Jr. is opening up about the next Iron Man installment. He recently outlined the idea behind this sequel to iesb.bet:

“Our goals are more of the same. The idea that he said he’s Iron Man in part 1…it’s one thing to say it, and it’s another thing to actually evolve to the point where you can live in a heroic fashion.

You know, they say, ‘The superhero movie always needs to follow…’ and I said who is that guy? Get him out of here! We want to do what worked for us last time, in a way that evolves.”

It's true. One of our favorite things about Iron Man was the way the movie moved away from superhero cliches towards something more satisfying: what was logical for the character, as oppoed to the genre.

“We’re talking about a guy who is put in an extraordinary circumstance, and the people that are around him, and how that creates a sense of family, and how that disrupts whatever forces that we have to say that are working [in his life]," the star of the upcoming Tropic Thunder said.

"I like the idea of an Iron Man 2 that you’re able to understand various points of view. You’re able to touch on some subjects that are a lot more far reaching, while still grounding it in entertainment."

The director is on board.

All the stars have signed on.

Until this week, all Iron Man 2 needed was a writer.

But sources told Entertainment Weekly that actor Justin Theroux (pictured, Mulholland Drive, Six Feet Under) is taking on the script for the wildly anticipated sequel.

Marvel Studios won't confirm the deal, but Theroux has generated a lot of interest after early screenings of Tropic Thunder, which he co-wrote with Etan Cohen and Ben Stiller. Theroux made his directorial debut with last year's Billy Crudup/Mandy Moore dramedy Dedication. We'll let you know when this deal is finalized.

According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, director Jon Favreau has officially reached a deal with Marvel Studios to direct Iron Man 2.

It's been assumed all along, but Favreau technically hadn't signed on for the film - which is targeted for an April 30, 2010 release - until now.

Robert Downey Jr. had a sequel clause in his contract, so he's been on board from the beginning. Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow are likely to return for the Iron Man 2, as well.

There have been numerous rumors floating around the Internet regarding the Iron Man sequel. Below, we've summarized a series of possible spoilers for the movie:

• Jon Favreau planned Iron Man as the first in a trilogy.

• According to MTV Movie Blogs, Favreau believes the sequel will explore darker story elements, such as alcoholism, which he intentionally set aside from the first film.

• Wikipedia quotes Robert Downey Jr. as saying: "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."

• Terrence Howard has said his character would become War Machine in the sequel, just like in the comics: "Judging from how that audience responded, we got a pretty good shot of having some War Machine go down."

In his latest MySpace blog, director Jon Favreau expressed concern about the announced release date of Iron Man 2 (April 10, 2010):

I am concerned about the announced release date of April 2010. Neither Robert nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is in light of the fact that we have no script, story or even writers hired yet.

This genre of movie is best when it is done thoughtfully and with plenty of preparation. It might be better to follow the [Batman Begins/The Dark Knight] three-year release pattern than to scramble for a date.

It is difficult because there are no Marvel 09 releases and they need product, but I also think we owe it to the fans to have a great version of Iron Man 2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one.

Makes sense to us. And we'd prefer a quality movie over a rushed one. Let's hope those behind Iron Man 2 keep this in mind.

Even though Jon Favreau won't officially admit that he's directing Iron Man 2 - already scheduled for an April 30, 2010 release - the film maker is talking openly about the project.

ComingSoon.net recently asked Favreau about committing to such a long-term project. Here's his reply:

Hopefully we'll figure out how to get Iron Man 2 going and I'll be involved with that. You have got to out-do what you did before. So, if the last one took two years, we would need at least that to do what we are talking about, or at least thinking about. Nobody knew about Iron Man, and that was a disadvantage in some ways, but nobody expected anything.

I think people were pleased based on the fact that they had no preconceptions about the project. Now, we have a movie that people seem to like and you can't give them less. You have to give them more.

There are challenges that come with that as well as the benefit of people already understanding who he is and the character. We told the origin story so where do you go from here? There are plenty of story lines to explore from the 40 years of history from that character.