CAST EM': Iron Man 3

Production is about to start on Iron Man 3 as Robert Downey Jr. is already sporting Tony Stark facial hair during international premieres of Sherlock Holmes 2. The third installment has been talked up by Robert as possibly the best in the series. Stating the script is one of the best he's ever read. At the helm is Shane Black who could be attributed to helping Robert land the Iron Man role in the first place. As Black's film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a career comeback for Downey and showed studios he was ready to work. Shane along with co-writer Drew Pearce have groundout a solid script according to the actor. It would make sense since Black is best known for creating the Lethal Weapon franchise, which is still considered the gem of the action genre.

While casting and character announcements haven't been made. Yet they soon will as the production date starts looming. I feel like I should give my two cents before the slew of casting rumors begin to flood in.

MY CASTING THOUGHTS

EVA GREEN AS MADAME MASQUE: We've been hearing rumors that Emily Blunt has been wanted for this role but I feel Eva is better suited. The French actress has had some success with Casino Royale and the underrated Kingdom of Heaven. It would be interesting to see her enter the fray of comic book films. She recently worked on Tim Burton's Dark Shadows and has been a regular on the series Camelot. Her latest film Perfect Sense was stunning which again shocks me why Hollywood isn't hiring this lady for bigger films. Green is able to pull off femme fatale convincingly which would be needed for the role. One thing that is seriously missing in the genre are strong female villains.

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU AS GHOST: Ghost is one of the most interesting villains in Iron Man's very limited rogues gallery. The corporate thief has quickly become a fan favorite with his involvement with the Thunderbolts. Even the character's creator hoped he would end up in the films. If Marvel wants to ground the third film this villain would help to achieve that goal. Also, while he does use advanced technology he isn't just another carbon copy of Iron Man.

Nikolaj seems like a great actor to play the character as he's both charismatic and villainous. The Danish actor burst onto the scene last year as Jamie Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. He also had a great performance in the Norwegian thriller Headhunters which is expected to be released here in North America in 2012. Marvel has already proven they love Thrones by hiring Alan Taylor for Thor 2 and pursuing Brian Kirk for the same job previously.

ISABEL LUCAS AS MOCKINGBIRD: Marvel Studios has a longstanding history of introducing supporting Marvel characters in their films. In the first film we got Agent Coluson and a cameo from Nick Fury. The second installment gave us Black Widow and War Machine. While I think they should minimize new additions I think Mockingbird would be an excellent one. The SHIELD agent is a longstanding member of the West Coast Avengers and is known as the partner of Hawkeye. There have been rumblings that Sharon Carter and even Carol Danvers could be in The Avengers so a character like Mockingbird might be better suited for an Iron Man 3 intro. If they are indeed moving forward with both the SHIELD and Hawkeye spin-offs she would likely be a character that would need to be included.

Australian actress Isabel Lucas is best known for her extensive work on the Aussie soap Home And Away. The staple show has been a stomping ground for Australian actors to get noticed. Most notable cast members included Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, Guy Pearce, Isla Fisher, Chris Hemsworth and Simon Baker. She recently played Athena in Immortals which was an action heavy role. Isabel will also get tough in the remake of Red Dawn alongside Thor himself Chris Hemsworth which comes out on November 2nd. It would be nice to see an actress hired with both an action and dramatic background behind her.

Shane Black Talks Villains & Casting For Iron Man 3

Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon) the director and co-writer of Iron Man 3 was speaking at the Long Beach Comic-Con (via ComicBookResources). He gave up brief details on the third installment which included one villain that won't be included along with who will be returning.

Mandarin is a villain Black doesn't want to see included as he's "a racist caricature". Which might be a shock to Jon Faverau who originally wanted to use him. Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle are expected to reprise their supporting roles. He also stated the film won't be focused on The Avengers or Easter eggs.

Marvel's Kevin Feige Gives Brief Update At New York Comic-Con

During The Avengers pannel at New York Comic-Con Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige gave a brief update on future films. CinemaBlend who was there live-blogging and Feige stated that Iron Man 3 would be the first step toward Avengers 2. Hopefully this will be done a little more quieter than in the second film which got it's story ruined by too many hints for upcoming films.

"We're in pre-production on a movie called Iron Man 3 right now. We've got a great director called Shane Black who's taking the reins. Iron Man 3 will be the first in what we're calling phase 2 that will hopefully results in an Avengers 2."

Bob Layton Wants The Ghost To Be The Villain In Iron Man 3

While talking to 411Maina Iron Man comic book writer Bob Layton was asked about Iron Man 3 villains. Which Bob replied he'd love to see Ghost be the baddie and is pushing Shane Black to use him. Black is going to have double duties on the film writing and directing.

"I'll let you know when I talk to him. The Ghost is who I want them to go with. It's the villain I want them to use. I'm looking forward to getting the chance to talk to him about it"

Ghost is a rather popular Iron Man villain who is currently a member of the Thunderbolts and has already been introduced to fans in the Iron Man Armored series. He's a cyber terrorist fitted with his "ghost-tech" that allows him to sneak into buildings and hack up a storm without ever being noticed. Along with some interesting weapons to go along with his technology. The espionage angle of the villain seems perfect for the more grounded approached the second sequel is boasting. Since the character has worked for both A.I.M. and the Roxxon Energy Corporation it seems that he could moonlight for anyone. The Roxxon building was shown during the Iron Monger and Iron Man L.A. battle in the first film.

-Previously there had been rumblings of Emily Blunt being considered for the role of Madame Masque.

-Clark Gregg has given fans via his Twitter account the impression that Agent Coulson will return for Iron Man 3.

Jon Favreau Wants Happy Hogan To Become The Freak In Iron Man 3

During the HeroComplex (via ComicBookMovie) film festival over the weekend there was a Q&A with Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. Robert was jokingly vocal about the biggest sticking point for Iron Man 3 being Jon Faverau's date rate to reprise Happy Hogan. Jon didn't sound opposed to the idea and wanted to see Happy exlpore his own impact on both Tony Stark and Iron Man. Hogan eventually marries Pepper and for a time becomes a villain known as The Freak.
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RDJ: Here’s the first thing I want to say. The most difficult part of making Iron Man 3 is going to be negotiating Jon Favreau’s acting deal.

Favreau: If The Freak isn’t in it, I’m not doing it. If Happy Hogan doesn’t turn into The Freak, I’m not doing it. Here’s what happens to Happy Hogan, he marries Pepper Potts…

RDJ: Wait a minute, you want both?

Favreau: I want a love scene with Pepper Potts with my shirt on and I want to transform into The Freak.

Favreau also revealed his thoughts on writer/director Shane Black continuing the franchise. Shane actually gave advise a few times in past to both Robert and Jon.

RDJ: - The negotiations have begun and so far I’m in agreement on every point. Well Shane, interestingly enough, there was a point when Jon and I were stuck on an idea [with a previous film]. We were just in an exploratory phase. So I said, ‘We should talk to Shane.’ And I was like, ‘Shane, we can’t really pay.’ And he was like, ‘Bring me some salmon and some blueberries.’ And we went to Yoda’s house in Miracle Mile and it wound up coming in handy, particularly for a couple scenes. So what I can say about this kind of circle of life thing is Shane, as he’s getting into the process [to direct Iron Man 3] and getting his sea legs and stuff, he goes, ‘When can we talk to Jon?’ So there’s going to be this kind of conglomerate of efforts.

 

Favreau: And I love the franchise and I’m a big fan of Shane’s as well so hopefully I can be helpful because I want to see this thing grow and transform. And actually, when it finally landed on Shane, it was like, ‘All right, that’s gonna be something interesting.’ Especially because it’s gonna be so difficult for whoever does that one because although it’s Iron Man 3, the whole Avengers thing…I guess in comics you can say that it’s an individual storyline and you can break it off into a group. But in movies, it’s hard not to take into consideration what just happened. What are you gonna say? ‘They all just lost their cell phones and you can’t get help?’ So it’s going to take a lot of ingenuity to make it make sense to a mainstream film audience as well as a comic book audience.

Shane Black Also Writing Iron Man 3 Afterall?

It wasn't too long ago that Marvel Studios announced that Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) would be directing Iron Man 3. Replacing Jon Favreau and it was expected he would also handle writing duties. So when Drew Pearce was brought in by the studio to write it seemed odd as Black is known as a very successful screenwriter. CinemaBlend is now reporting that Shane is in fact co-writing with Drew.

It's great news as Shane is one of the greatest action genre writers. Creating the Lethal Weapon franchise to writing scripts for The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Last Action Hero and his directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He's also working on adaptations of Doc Savage and Death Note.

I recently re-watched Iron Man 2 and one of my biggest issues were the film's action set pieces in Monaco and Stark Mansion. They were big let downs and it wasn't until the very end that we got something fun and visual with the droids, War Machine and Black Widow. Hopefully Black can give us a solid Iron Man adventure and not just a Tony Stark focused soap opera.

Marvel has yet to reveal the plot or villains of the film but they have stated it won't be bloated like Iron Man 2 with all the character cameos and setting up other films. This very well could mean we won't see a big S.H.I.E.L.D presence along with fellow Avengers not making cameos. It's being toted as in the vain of a Tom Clancy novel which gives the impression that The Ten Rings will likely be involved. The Mandarin and Whitney Frost (Madame Masque) have been teased with Emily Blunt being rumored for a role in the film. I would expect there could be casting announcements made at this year's Comic-Con as the release date is set for May 3rd 2013.

Michelle Monaghan Would Join Iron Man 3 If Offered Role

Collider's Frosty was able to sit down with Michelle Monaghan during press for Source Code. He brought up her wonderful performance in Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang opposite Robert Downey Jr. and asked if she'd be up for joining Iron Man 3. While Michelle says she talked with Shane about the film which focused more his own excitement. She left the door open saying if she was offered a role she'd take it but won't pursue.

Considering her friendship with both Shane and Robert it's likely her name could be thrown into the mix if there is enough interest from fans and Kevin Feige. Yet, Michelle might have had a bad experience with superhero films as she was in talks to play Silver Fox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine but ultimately didn't get the part. If I had to guess which role she'd be suited for would be either Whitney Frost (Madame Masque) or Jessica Drews (Spider-Woman). There had been speculation that Emily Blunt was up for a role in third film. As Emily has previously stated she never wanted to sign on for a multiple picture deal. Seeing Blunt playing a villain wouldn't be shocking. I'd personally love to see both of them in the third film and Gwyneth Paltrow take a backseat as the love interest.

Drew Pearce Hired To Write Iron Man 3

Deadline has word that Marvel Studios has found a writer to start working on the script for Iron Man 3. Drew Pearce who had been tapped to write the Runaways for Marvel Studios previously will work on the script. When Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) was announced as the director it was expected he would get double duty as the films writer as well since he created the Lethal Weapon franchise.

Shane Black Confirms Writing & Directing Iron Man 3, No Suited Villain!

When director Shane Black was first linked to Iron Man 3 it wasn't mentioned if the famous screenwriter would also handle writing duties. Now there is word from AICN that Black himself spoke about the third Iron Man during the Omaha Film Festival.

He went on to confirm that Robert Downey Jr. is contributing to the film's story and Black will write the script along with directing. Shane is one of the greatest action/comedy writers creating the Lethal Weapon franchise along with some amazing one-shots with The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Not to mention his directing debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which revived Robert Downey Jr.'s acting career.

Black revealed some story elements Stark won't fight another superpowered villain in a suit. As Marvel wasn't happy with how Iron Man 2 turned out and are trying to make it more grounded. Real world villains will be fought and Tom Clancy was sited as inspiration. It sounds like we could end up seeing The Ten Rings or A.I.M. being the baddies in the next film but I wouldn't rule out the Mandarin.

Shane Black In Final Talks To Direct Iron Man 3

Deadline confirms that Shane Black is in final talks to direct Iron Man 3. While there isn't talk of him writing the script he's one of the best action film screenwriters in Hollywood. There is a lot of support from the comic book film fan-base for Black and it looks like Marvel has taken notice. Shane's only directorial effort was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a cult favorite which is a key reason for Robert Downey Jr.'s carer re-launch and likely the reason for landing the role of Tony Stark. Robert had actually spoken to Shane about how to approach the role for the original film.

I assume with Black's involvement means we will see an Iron Man buddy picture featuring both Stark and Rhodey working as partners. Hopefully we won't need to have appearances from other Marvel heroes or SHIELD Agents. I think having War Machine and Iron Man in one film is enough to fill the hero quota.

Shane Black In Talks To Write & Direct Iron Man 3

HeatVision is reporting that writer/director Shane Black is in talks to take on Iron Man 3. Black has some serious writing skills writing screenplays for Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Last Action Hero and Monster Squad. He also did double duty of writing and directing Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Currently he's been writing an adaptation of Doc Savage with the possibility of directing it.

He's not a sure thing as other people are talking with Marvel Studios to work on the third installment. There had been talk that RDJ has final say on the director and is likely to pick someone he's worked with before.

I had Shane pegged as my favorite to direct the Deadpool film and I believe he's an excellent fit for the Marvel universe. Whoever gets the gig, I hope the third film ends up more Stark/Iron Man focused rather than a venue to introduce new Marvel characters.



Do You Think Shane Black Should Make Iron Man 3? Who Else Could Take On The Franchise? Leave Your Comments!