Iron Man News
Howard a Rhodes scholar
10/09/06Terrence Howard is set to join Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man." The Jon Favreau-directed film is the first to be coined through a financing arrangement that Marvel Studios formed with Merrill Lynch. Paramount Pictures releases the film May 2, 2008. Howard will play Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, the confidante of Iron Man's alter ego, Tony Stark. Rhodes, a high ranking military officer and aviator, steers the team that develops the robotic suit that allows the sickly Stark to fly around and battle bad guys. In the comic, Rhodes' character gets his own armored suit and evolves into an occasionally antagonistic character called War Machine. That development seems likely to be saved for the sequel, though, as Iron Man will battle villain the Mandarin when shooting begins in February in L.A.
'Iron' hot for Downey
09/28/06Marking his first lead role in a big-budget action movie, Robert Downey Jr. will be putting on the "Iron Man" suit for Marvel Studios. Downey will play Iron Man and his alter ego Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist who invents a high-tech suit of body armor giving him superpowers when he is kidnapped. In the comics, Stark was an alcoholic, a trait that will undoubtedly draw public comparisons with Downey's own struggles with substance abuse. However, Feige said the first pic won't deal with Stark's alcohol problems, though it would likely come up in potential sequels. Pic, set for release by Paramount in May 2008, will be the first to be self-financed by Marvel. Jon Favreau directs.
'Iron' claims '08 date
06/22/06Marvel's "Iron Man" is the first film to claim a summer date for 2008, taking the first weekend of May. The announcement comes as Marvel has yet to nail down financing for "Iron Man," along with "The Incredible Hulk," which also may come out in 2008. Jon Favreau is attached to direct "Iron Man." Marvel currently has two separate writing teams -- Matt Hollaway and Art Markum ("Convoy"), and Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby ("First Snow") -- working on drafts.
© 2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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