Apparently it is the Audi R8. Audi and Marvel have teamed up to give Tony Stark a ride in the new film, that will help lessen the burden of Marvel financing all the promotion itself.

As part of its involvement, Audi will likely pony up tens of millions of dollars to help promote the movie worldwide upon its release, set for May 2008. Details of the marketing plans are still being worked out. Recruiting heavyweight promotional partners like Audi for “Iron Man” is particularly crucial for Marvel given that the pic is the first the company is self-financing, with Par only distribbing.

One of the interesting things about the $108,000 car is it has been designed with the movie promotion in mind; the engine housing glows at night similar to Tony’s chestplate, and the car’s headlights resemble the eye slits of Iron Man’s helmet. Audi actually went to great lengths to get the attention of Marvel to get its car(s) in the film, similar to the deal GMC Dodge had with the Fantasticar from this summer’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and GMC had with the Transformers.

You would think with his fortune he’d be kickin’ it in the back of a stretch limo surrounded by hotties, while his man servant drives him around… ah, the life of a millionaire playboy.

via Variety

Avi Arad has confirmed Sam “mutha-f**ker” Jackson and Hilary Swank will make appearances in the upcoming Iron Man movie. While he tried to keep mum on what roles they would play, he did let slip Jackson will play Nick Fury.

Clearly a bit frustrated, Arad then amended himself. “The Sam thing was supposed to be the biggest secret of them all,” he shrugged. “It’s amazing how it got out.”

via MTV

This image appeared in the latest Entertainment Weekly, hyping both the movie and the Comic-Con. I’m pretty excited about this image, and the panel this week that will hopefully have a lot cool clips from the film.

via Entertainment Weekly

Wanna see some Iron Man goodness? You’ll have to head to the San Diego Comic-Con where Jon Favreau will be sharing the big room on Saturday with Hulk and Marvel during the company’s one hour presentation. Favreau says he’ll try and cut something together as a reward for fans.

Favreau and company will also be doing signing and poster giveaways at the Marvel booth on Saturday, so be sure to get in line early for both events.

And what about those Iron Man rumors?

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Yeah, I’m still trying to catch up on sleep since Mason joined the Major Spoilers Family, so I just ran across the Entertainment Weekly photo of the cast of Iron Man. Robert Downey, Jr. is looking pretty good, and I can believe him as Tony Stark, and if the other images that have been sneaking out are any indication, I’m going to like this movie - that is providing the little one allows me to go see it!

via Superhero Hype!

According to film director Jon Favreau, Iron Man will be seeking a PG-13 rating when it its screens in May of 2008. While I can understand the need to keep franchise movies like Iron Man in the PG realm, since when has an R rating kept kids out of theaters?

via Jon Favreau MySpace page

Like his previous appearances, Stan Lee will once again make a brief cameo appearance in the upcoming Iron Man movie.

In an interview with IGN, Stan Lee said, “That’s the best of all! I’m with three blondes and Tony Stark mistakes me for Hugh Hefner. I won’t tell you the rest, but it’s very funny.”

via IGN

Marvel has posted the high resolution images of the Iron Man Mark I and III suits, as well as a rather buff looking Robert Downey Jr. working on his metal creations. If a dirty gritty Stark isn’t your cup of tea, then check out the dashing version of the man from Superhero Hype.

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Entertainment Weekly has released a sneak peek of the suit Robert Downey Jr. will be wearing in the Iron Man movie. The cybernetic Mark III was built by Stan Winston studios. The suit looks really cool, and I can’t wait to see it on the screen! My hope is Downey isn’t constricted in his movement like Michael Keaton was in the first Batman movie.

via Entertainment Weekly

IGN has posted an image of the Iron Man suit - Mark I.

Yeah, I’m liking this look A LOT! If this attention to detail and history is an indication of what we can expect from the rest of the Iron Man movie, then I’m hooked, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, and all.

Now if they could only get Nick Cage to play the Manchurian Mandarin.

via IGN

Jon Favreau posted a quick message over at his MySpace page letting everyone know what is up with Iron Man.

We are done with the first week of photography. I am happy to report that the ten months of preparation allowed the extremely challenging first week of photography to come off without a hitch. The look is fantastic and the performances are great as well. Downey was definitely the right choice.

I’m looking forward to getting out of the “cave.” The first few weeks of shooting are spent, somewhat in sequence, establishing Stark’s captivity. It sets the table tonally for the rest of the film. The close quarters and tight schedule make it the toughest part of the shoot on the cast and crew.

Sounds pretty cool. At first I was a little worried about Downey as Tony Stark, but over the last couple of months I’ve come to like the idea a lot.

via MySpace (link)

Jon Favreau updated his MySpace page with info on the latest Iron Man news. We already knew the Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, but I thought you might want to find out what else he had to say.

Gwyneth Paltrow has been cast as Virginia Pepper Potts. I met her on an idie called Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle many years ago. We begin filming in eight weeks.

Stan Winston is working on the suit. Sets are being built. Fergus and Ostby(Children of Men) are working on the script. Matty Libatique is shooting it. Everything is really coming together.

Cool. Where I was once concerned, I am now excited about this movie.
via MySpace (link)

Ain’t It Cool News is reporting this morning that Gwyneth Paltrow has been cast in the role of Pepper Potts in the upcoming Iron Man moving staring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Terrance Howard as Jim Rhodes.

I’m not a huge Paltrow fan, but Jon Favreau seems to know what he is doing, and with the cast shaping up well, this could be bigger than anything X-Men pulled off. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into a celebrity spotlight event like that awful Batman and Robin.

via Ain’t It Cool News (link)

Ironmanmovie.com has launched.  All it has right now is the logo and a place to sign up for updates.

via ironmanmovie (link)

Variety has confirmed what we reported on months ago - Terrence Howard will play Tony Stark’s buddy Jim Rhodes in the upcoming Iron Man movie.

It’s pretty much accepted that, unless Iron Man turns into a huge bomb in the box office, the franchise and sequel potential is very high. In the comic Jim Rhodes takes over the helm of Iron Man when Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) takes some time off and eventually evolves into the character War Machine.

“The suit is purely an innovative creation, so this is Marvel meets Tom Clancy technology,” Marvel Studios production president Kevin Feige said. “Having the best actors for the key roles allows them to inhabit the hyperkinetic reality of this world.”

I’m still on the fence on casting for this film, but if Marvel, Jon Favreau, and the fan boy community are excited about these announcements, then I’ll eventually come around.

What do you think? Talk about it in the Major Spoilers Forum.