Variety are reporting that Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks with Paramount Pictures concerning the roles of two villains in the Iron Man sequel.
Mickey Rourke (Sin City, The Wrestler) is set to play the big baddie of the movie, Crimson Dynamo, “a heavily tattooed Russian arms dealer. He’s considered to be an evil version of Iron Man because he battles the superhero in a nuclear-powered suit of armor.”.
The Hollywood Reporter are suggesting that Sam Rockwell will play Justin Hammer, “a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Tony Stark”.
Story of the original Crimson Dynamo from Wikipedia — possible plot spoilers below:
The first Crimson Dynamo was also the creator of the armor: Professor Anton Vanko. A Soviet scientist of Armenian birth with a PhD, Vanko was the world’s foremost expert on electricity. He built a suit that was wired up to perform electric miracles, making him a human dynamo. The Crimson Dynamo battle-suit allowed him to control electricity in all of its forms, allowing him to fire devastating bolts of electricity. It also allowed him to fly.
Vanko was a vain and cocky man, but he redeemed himself in the end. In their first encounter, the Crimson Dynamo battled Iron Man. After being tricked by Iron Man (who made him believe that his Soviet handlers were going to kill him though earlier Vanko’s superior implied he was going to kill Vanko, anyway), Vanko defected to the U.S. and went to work for Tony Stark as one of his chief scientists. Soon the Soviets came to kill him for real. They sent their top agent, the Black Widow [also rumored], and her one-time partner, Boris Turgenev, the latter of whom stole the armor and became the second Crimson Dynamo. Vanko died saving Iron Man by firing an unstable experimental laser light pistol at Boris, killing himself as well.
Note the inclusion of the Black Widow in this plot arc, a character also rumored to appear in Iron Man 2
Justin Hammer’s background via Wikipedia:
Justin Hammer was born in Surrey, England, and later became a citizen of Monaco. A rival of industrialist Anthony Stark (Iron Man), multi-billionaire businessman Hammer, himself an industrialist, later became a criminal financier. Hammer uses unethical methods. In exchange for fifty percent of the profits from their crimes, he will pay bail for costumed criminals and finance the development and replacement of their weaponry and equipment.
Crimson Dynamo
Justin Hammer
