Rourke, Johansson Officially Cast in 'Iron Man 2'
Wed, March 11, 2009 
It certainly has been a busy pair of days for "Iron Man 2."
First, as we showed you yesterday, director Jon Favreau released
a picture from the set.
Now, comes word that two rumored signings are in the books.
First up was the news that Mickey Rourke is officially on board. Variety reported on Jan. 7 that Rourke was in discussions to play a villain described as "Tony Stark's Russian alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit."
Since then, rumors have had Rourke in or out, and word was that he was being "low-balled" with a $250,000 offer.
Today, however, Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily said Rourke's signing is official.
"He may not have won the Oscar, but Mickey Rourke is taking his nomination to the bank. I just heard that ICM has scored its second casting deal for Marvel's 'Iron Man 2.' After at first being low-balled by the studio to the tune of $250K, Rourke has signed on for the role of the Russian villain in the sequel after his agent David Unger got the quote up to a 'significant' level despite this punishing economic climate where the studios are taking advantage of talent."
The first casting deal Finke was referring to was for Samuel L. Jackson to play the role of Nick Fury.
Finke updated her Rourke story later, dropping in this little bombshell: "I can also tell you that Sony was considering hiring Mickey to play the villain in 'Spider-Man 4.'"
According to Finke, Rourke is in Russia this week to promote "The Wrestler" and he will be "researching his new role immediately there."
Soon after that scoop, Finke added a second bit of info: Emily Blunt definitely is out as Black Widow and Scarlett Johansson is in.
"Interesting because Scarlett actually screen-tested for the role and didn't get it," wrote Finke.
Also, according to Finke, the deal Johansson made was "terrible."
Finke's insider told her: "It's as bad as any deal that I've heard. It's lowball money. And it ties her to countless movies, including that ensemble 'The Avengers,' which is what makes this brutal for a lot of actors."
Sean Gerski
According to Variety, Rourke previously met with Jon Favreau and scribe Justin Theroux and "got to be part of the development of his character. He'll play Whiplash, a character that includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie."
Reader Comments (1)
Great information! I love your stories. Very well written and interesting. I can't wait for that movie to come out. I hope it is as good as the first one!