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Two of my favorite character actors have joined Iron Man 2, according to /Film.
Clark Gregg, who recently directed the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation Choke, and can be seen in the comedic goldmine that is The New Adventures of Old Christine is thankfully back as Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the first film, Coulson was used to introduce the concept of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is expected to be a very big part of any subsequent Iron Man film. Gregg is so good at this type of role (see In Good Company) and played really well off of Gwenyth Paltrow's Pepper Potts.
And speaking of extremely attractive ladies, Kate Mara (We Are Marshall) is going to play a role that, as of right now, is being kept secret. Paltrow is coming back and the eye candy factor is going to go off the charts with Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, so it should be interesting to see where Mara fits in. Even though Shooter was kind of horrible, We Are Marshall is in my top three sports movies of all time, and Mara was a big part of that in a smaller role.
Iron Man has been my favorite superhero since I was a kid. It was the character that got me into comic books, an obsession that continues to this day. The first Iron Man film was everything I could have hoped for and, from what I've heard so far, the second installment just will add to the awesome hybrid director Jon Favreau has established of comedy, drama, and action film, except without all of the origin story to plow through this time. I will say, though, that I'm extremely saddened by the rumors that the Demon in a Bottle storyline won't be addressed in this film. The story arc, which explores Tony Stark's alcoholism, is one of the best comic arcs I've ever read and should definitely be checked out by anyone interested in Iron Man as a character.
The release date for Iron Man 2 is May 7, 2010 and is shooting right now.
This deal would obviously include involvement in the eventual film for the ensemble hero team The Avengers and maybe the other individual hero films leading up to it (including Thor and Captain America). Variety also references another title called The Shield which I can only assume would follow the exploits of the unit known as S.H.I.E.L.D., but this is the first I've heard of it. So maybe there's an as yet officially unannounced movie dedicated specifically to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Let's hope that this deal sets the tone for some more happy endings to negotiations (mainly for Mickey Rourke who is on again/off again as a potential villain in Iron Man 2 following a lowball offer from Marvel for the role). Iron Man 2 is set for release May 7, 2010 with principal photography set to begin this spring.
Economic Crisis Might Kill Nick Fury for 'Iron Man 2'
IGN sat down with Sam Jackson himself and asked him about the rumors circulating that Marvel may not be able to afford to have him aboard:
This is not good news for Marvel or fans of the upcoming potential franchise. While some might think that it's not necessary to have Jackson keep the role for this to work, this predicament is just as annoying as when Marvel switched out the already established Terrence Howard (Rhodey from Iron Man who later becomes the character War Machine in the comics) for Don Cheadle. Not that I don't like Don Cheadle, but casting changes like this for what is to become a franchise is just frustrating.
I can't say that Marvel is being stingy with their money, especially because we don't know how much Jackson is supposed to get paid for portraying Nick Fury (I would hope that he'd be willing to take a pay cut to participate in something like this, especially since the man makes about 5 films a year). However, Marvel's negotiating tactics don't seem to great considering their first offer to Mickey Rourke as a potential villain in the sequel to Iron Man is a lowball figure. Anyway, I really would like to see this all successfully come together, and hope that Marvel and the negotiating talent can come to some sort of arrangement. What do you guys think about this debacle?