Johansson & Rourke Confirmed For Iron Man 2

E! Online has recently confirmed that actress Scarlett Johansson has officially signed on to play The Black Widow in the upcoming sequel, Iron Man 2.

Her rep Marcel Marseau was quoted saying, "Scarlett is thrilled to be a part of Iron Man."

That's not all, Deadline Hollywood Daily has also confirmed that Mickey Rourke is also on board to play a villain named, Whiplash. This villain will take elements from Russian villain, The Crimson Dynamo.

It was also reported that the studio had offered Rourke a lousy 250k for the role, so he was forced to decline. But Rourke's agent, David Unger was reported to have been able to increase the fee at a significant amount therefore giving us our second villain for the film.

Reports are also saying that Rourke was also considered for the role of the villain in the upcoming Spider-Man film.

All I can say is Thank God!! I think Mickey Rourke will be awesome as the villain!! I applaud FOX for coming to their senses. And as for the casting of Scarlett, I'm still on the fence on this one. I think Emily Blunt was actually a good choice. Scarlett, to me, she's a little overrated.

What do you think? Comment!!

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First Iron Man 2 Set Photo!!

Iron Man 2 director, Jon Favreau has released the very first set photo of himself and cinematographer, Matthew Libatique on the set of Tony Stark's house, which is clearly under construction.

While we're talking about Iron Man 2, I'd like to discuss the topic of the problems they had with casting. A few months ago, we posted about the casting of villains, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, as well as Emily Blunt as The Black Widow. The rumors surfaced how Rourke was unhappy with the salary he was being offered, and that Emily Blunt was gonna be replaced by none other than Scarlett Johansson. Internet buzz went crazy over this, with speculations connecting all the way back to the re-casting of Terence Howard's character, Rhodey. Are these actors really being underpaid? Well, the good news is that some light has been shed over the matter!

Jon Favreau was interviewed during Oscars night, and he said that Fox has decided to exercise their option to cast Emily Blunt in their upcoming film, Gullivers Travels, therefore making her unavailable for Iron Man 2.

With regards to Mickey Rourke, he was quoted saying, "he isn't officially cast but that he is a fan."

Robert Downey Jr. also said that producers are still hard at work at casting Rourke as a villain. He was quoted saying, "they are slaving away for a hot script" for Iron Man 2.

Now could all these sudden cast changes affect the film? Probably not. But if you ask me, I think that they should definitely cast Mickey Rourke. Rourke, who successfully pulled off the biggest comeback in history, is definitely a hot ticket now....and I can totally see this dude playing a bad-ass villain!! And as for the role of Black Canary, I'm really just either/or on that matter. I mean, both actresses are fine as hell, and I'm sure both would do a great job! Hey, as long as you got Downey Jr putting on the suit, then I'm a happy camper.

What do you think? Comment!!

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Vanity Fair Photo Shoot.

Photographer Anne Leibovitz photographed the Vanity Fair photo shoot for all of this years Oscar nominees. Each photo includes the films director and lead actor. These 10 partnerships generated more than four dozen oscar nominations.

Slumdog Millionaire's Danny Boyle & Dev Patal.

The Wrestler's Darren Aronofsky & Mickey Rourke.

Australia's Baz Luhrmann & Nicole Kidman.

Doubt's John Patrick Shanley & Meryl Streep.

Gran Torino's actor and director Clint Eastwood.

Angels and Demons' Ron Howard & Tom Hanks.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona's Woody Allen & Penelope Cruz.

Revolutionary Road's Sam Mendes & Kate Winslet.

Milk's Gus Van Sant & Sean Penn.

This last photo was most interesting because of Heath Ledger's unfortunate death. Vanity Fair used a photo taken in 2006 and added director Christopher Nolan into the shot.

The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan & Heath Ledger.

So What Exactly Is His Role??

As some of you may or may not remember, VANTAGE reported to you guys that actor Mickey Rourke was set to play The Crimson Dynamo for the upcoming sequel, Iron Man 2. According to our sources, and Robert Downey Jr. himself, this may not be 100% accurate.

Downey Jr. was quoted saying, ""That's actually incorrect," Downey told MTV News when asked if Rourke was being considered for the aforementioned Iron Man rogue. When pressed if, instead of Crimson Dynamo, Rourke was up for the role of Whiplash, another potential role bandied about on blogs these days, Downey had a more cryptic response."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," said Downey. "Or maybe it's some semblance of both. Here, I can tell you everything about the story except I won't give away the ending. The nerd stuff is top-drawer security."

So the true identity of the villainous role of Mickey Rourke is somehwat still a mystery. Stay tuned to VANTAGE as we will keep you posted, and update you guys as soon as we hear anything new!

What do you think? Comment!!

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More Iron Man 2 Casting News

Hey Readers. Today VANTAGE gives you guys even more casting news from the anticipated sequel, Iron Man 2.

Variety is now reporting that Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) is in talks to join the feature film. She is currently up for the role of Natasha Romanoff.

Natasha Romanoff is a Soviet super spy who's alter ego is the Black Widow, a femme fatale who sports a skintight black costume that is enhanced by high-tech weaponry.

If the role does go to Emily, she will be joining Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and the recently announced villains, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell.

Iron Man 2 is set to go into production this spring with the hopes for a May 7, 2010 release date.

With all these casting news appearing online, I can't help but get a little excited. I mean, the casting of Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell is just awesome! I think that they're absolutely perfect for the roles! And now this! I think that it's an excellent idea to bring in the Black Widow! I'm sure that the Iron Man fans out there will appreciate that! I myself am not a huge Iron Man fan so I only really have a vague idea of the Black Widow character, but I'm guessing a love triangle will be played out in the film.

What do you think? Comment!

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Rourke And Rockwell For Iron Man 2 Villains

Iron Man 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the monster hit Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The movie is currently in production, and the question on everyone's mind is, who will the villains be this time around?

9 1/2 Weeks star, Mickey Rourke is in talks to play a Russian character named Ivan, who becomes a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils. Variety reports that his character will ultimately become The Crimson Dynamo. He is considered to be the "evil version" of Iron Man because he battles Iron Man with a nuclear powered armor.

Charlie's Angels star, Sam Rockwell is also in talks to play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman who is the rival of Tony Stark.

Rourke and Rockwell could join an already star-studded cast of Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle, who is replacing Terrence Howard as Rhodey.

This movie definitely sounds like it's gonna be packed with more action than the original. Two villains? Sounds bad ass, I just hope that they don't lose focus of the story cuz the story is what makes the movie. CGI is just the cherry on top. I do however, love the fact that they're featuring The Crimson Dynamo. The fight scenes between the two should be very exciting.

What do you think? Comment!!

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