Iron Man 2 - Rourke in, Blunt out, Johansson in.

Past news suggested Mickey Rourke could not be in Iron Man 2 due to being offered a low amount of pay. Now Nikki Finke has the news that Marvel Studios have upped their offer substantially and Rourke will now be in as a Russian villain opposite Robert Downey Jr. Thanks to Pam for sending me the news.

Variety say that he will be playing the villain Whiplash. They say that the version in Iron Man 2 "includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie." Basically he'll be wearing a big suit of armour with big whip tentacle things on his arms.

Nikki Finke also confirmed that Scarlett Johansson will be indeed stepping in to replace the originally announced Emily Blunt in Iron Man 2. Blunt was initially chosen to play Black Widow, but then Fox required her to star in Gulliver's Travels instead, due to a contract she had signed with them during The Devil Wears Prada. Finke says that, "Scarlett actually screen-tested for the role and didn't get it," but is the replacement that Favreau and Marvel chose, primarily because her agent signed her on for a very low pay out.

I do think it is a damn shame that Blunt won't be playing the Black Widow as I feel she is a better actress and has the right athletic build for the character. I could see Johansson playing someone like the Scarlet Witch (no pun intended) but I just don't see her as the Black Widow. Don't get me wrong. Johansson was great in Ghost World and Lost in Translation, I just don't think she has kept the acting chops going in recent films.

I also hope Rourke brings his A-game to the villainous Whiplash. I don't want to see a retread of his bad guy character, Darrius Sayle in the not very good Stormbreaker.

How do you feel about the two pieces of casting news for Iron Man 2? Is it shaping up to be as good as the first?

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