With an Iron Man sequel guaranteed at this point, Entertainment Weekly caught up with Robert Downey Jr. and asked him about possible story lines for the follow-up, already set for theaters on April 30, 2010.

When you were brainstorming with Jon Favreau, what were the elements that you wanted to bring to the next Iron Man movie?
There’s this idea of Terrence Howard putting on a suit and coming back as War Machine, who is pretty iconic in the Iron Man and Marvel universe. Just seeing where it can all go, but grounding it in a very modern mythology. I see it as greatest dysfunctional family story ever told….

In The New York Post a couple days ago, [there was a cartoon] of Iron Man suited up, and he’s telling the governor even his super-powers can’t get him out of the budget problem. That was what Jon was hoping for and excited to see the most, the idea that Tony Stark and Iron Man can become part of the cultural fabric.

When we heard posters were being defaced to promote political or social ideas, he just got such a hoot out of that.

On the heels of an almost $200 million weekend (!), Iron Man doesn’t appear just likely to come out with a sequel; Marvel Entertainment has confirmed a follow-up to this blockbuster.

The studio has released its feature film slate, starting in 2010. The already-rumored Iron Man 2 is set for April 30, 2010, followed by three more movies for the summers of 2010 and 2011:

• Matthew Vaughn’s Thor is set for a release on June 4, 2010;
• The First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) will kick off the summer of 2011 on May 6;
• The Avengers is scheduled for July 2011.

In a conference call, Marvel Studios’ David Maisel said that Iron Man 2 will be used to introduce Thor.

Also, Regarding more Incredible Hulk movies, Maisel said they “definitely plan on continuing,” while adding that development continues on Spider-Man 4.

“I can’t give any other updates other than to say it’s in development and everybody’s excited about Spider-Man 4,” he said.

We’re written a lot about the rumors of an Iron Man sequel.

Now, though, Viacom/CBS Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone and Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey told Entertainment Tonight that if the movie does as well as expected, the company will greenlight a sequel for the same week in 2010.

We’ll let you know as more information comes in about Iron Man 2. But it’s rather safe to assume the film will perform well enough this weekend to warrant a couple more in the franchise.

For months, it was rumored that Samuel L. Jackson would appear in Iron Man as the comic character Nick Fury, an eye-patched agent of a secret government organization.

Well, now we know why the actor had been denying that he’s in the movie: because he isn’t.

But reports are coming in that Jackson does, indeed, make this highly-anticipated cameo… during the closing credits! Here’s a fuzzy look at it now:

So when Iron Man fades to black this weekend, stay in your seat. Fury pops up on screen and many believe he’ll be prominently involved in the film’s sequel.

Samuel L. Jackson is likely to appear in a future Iron Man movie as the character of Nick Fury.

In an interview last week, Terrence Howard hinted at the plot of an Iron Man sequel.

While director Jon Favreau wouldn’t reveal that much, he admits that future Iron Man movies are on his brain.

“I thought about it,” Favreau told IGN. “I have one, two, and three in my head, because if you don’t then it seems like you’re just re-treading the same ground. No, the way the Mandarin fits in, the way War Machine fits in, whether or not Obadiah [Stane] pops up again… There’s a lot. The relationship of Pepper.

So we’re really thinking and I’m watching the horizon as I do these movies so that it all makes sense as you watch them altogether. I mean, look at how well Lord of the Rings works. It builds to a climax, compared to movies where it just feels like you’re redoing the same thing over and over again to diminishing returns.”

While Favreau may be dreaming of future Iron Man movies, he’s quick to point out that he isn’t even on board for a second movie yet.

“There is no second one yet,” he said. “Part of what they do when they do an actor’s deal is they sign you on for many because it can get very expensive. For director they don’t see the need because they can make the movie with or without you. I would love to do a sequel to it and I think that depending on the success of the film…”

The first blockbuster of the summer comes out this Friday.

Indeed, Robert Downey Jr. flies into theaters as Iron Man this week. While the previews for the film couldn’t make it look much more exciting, we were curious what critics thought. Here’s our answer…

- Audiences looking for grand escapist fare at cinemas this summer won’t mind having spent their price of admission on it. Be sure to get some popcorn too… — Sci Fi Movie Page

- In place is a talented cast, an interesting director, an established lead character, and a wealth of plots from the comics ready to be mined for future storylines. Despite Iron Man’s problems, it will definitely leave you wanting more… — IGN UK

- [An] expansively entertaining special effects extravaganza… — Variety

- Handsome and Charismatic, Robert Downey Jr. renders a dominant performance, treating the comicstrip character as a dramatic actor, which compensates for the movie’s flaws and elevates it above the standard of a slickly produced popcorn summer fare… – Emanuel Levy

Terrence Howard recently spoke to IGN and seems to have stumbled into comments regarding the future of his character that hint at an Iron Man sequel.

In the upcoming film, Howard’s character of Jim Rhodes looks at Tony Stark’s spare Iron Man suit and says to himself: “Next time baby.”

Here’s what the actor had to say about the line:

“The beautiful thing about Marvel is that they’ve always stuck with the tradition of staying truthful to the comics and loyal to the fans.  If you’ve read the comics you’ll know that that is the next phase, but there is another intermediate phase in there where he would have to put on his best friend’s suit for a period of time.”

What does this mean?

Fans of the comics know that, due to Tony Stark’s alcoholism, Rhodes is eventually forced to don the armor and become Iron Man in place of his pal. He soon begins to get headaches and his behavior becomes more erratic, leading to an all-out rampage.

Stark is then forced to build himself another suit to stop his friend. Might this be a ossible plot for Iron Man 2? Discuss!

In the following pair of Iron Man photos, Tony Stark first tries on his suit… and then reads about the new, familiar super hero making headlines:

Check out a slew of new Iron Man pics now at MoviesOnline.

Movie goers will recognize Shaun Toub from roles in films such as Bad Boys, Crash and, most recently, The Kite Runner.

In May Toub’s face will become even more well-known when he graces the big screen as the character of Yin-Sen in the long-awaited Iron Man. Movie Web recently talked with the actor about the project:

When you signed on for this role, how familiar were you with the comics and what kind of research did you do?
Shaun Toub: Well, beforehand, I didn’t know much about it, but when I was offered the role, I tried to dig up as much as possible. I remember something from my childhood in Iron Man comic books. I tried to dig up as much as possible, not that there’s a lot out there, but I was able to get something. It’s interesting that the information on the web was so different than what I thought my character might be like.

I didn’t want to do too much research because I didn’t want it to influence me so much. I knew this was something that I had to create, because there wasn’t much on paper and we were running against the clock, so I was trying to let my mind be free. It’s just the way I work. It’s hard to come up with characters, but it happens sometimes. It’s interesting.

What can you tell us about your character Yin-Sen, and how it might differ from the comic book?
Shaun Toub: Yin-Sen is a very important character for Iron Man. He’s basically responsible for saving his life and also sent him on his journey. He’s a very pivotal character to the Iron Man story. He helps actually create, he has a hand in the creation of Iron Man. I don’t want to give away too much, obviously.

Read the full interview now.

In the following Iron Man clip, our hero takes flight for the first time. We hope he doesn’t hurt himself: