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.

Variety is reporting that well known actor Robert Downey Jr. will be throwing back the alcohol and downing the red and yellow for the Jon Favreau helmed Iron Man movie. This is the first action movie for the actor, who is better known for his roles in Good Night, Good Luck, Wonder Boys, Chaplin, and The Singing Detective. Running down his credits at Imdb, the closest thing to flying Downey has down has been when he dangled from a helicopter in Air America. Downey should have no trouble getting into the Stark role, has he has had trouble with sobriety in the past.

Iron Man is scheduled for a May 2008 release. This will be the first self-financed film Marvel will undertake. According to Merrill Lynch, Marvel is allowed to spend $165 million per flick.

Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to America, Tony must come to terms with his past. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

I’m very interested to receive word from Marvel on why Downey was selected for the role. Of all the available actors in H-land, Downey would not have been in the top ten of actors I would have approached for the lead. Downey is a good actor - there’s no denying that, but if he can’t pull this off, it could spell doom for Marvel (no pun intended). Iron Man is a multi film deal. The first film out of the gate will focus on Tony’s building and using the Iron Man suit for the first time. Subsequent flicks will no doubt pit Stark against other foes, and if you read the report I posted a month or so ago, there is a good chance, Downey will show up in an Avengers movie down the road.

So who would I have selected to play Tony Stark?

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KCRW has an interview with Iron Man director Jon Favreau on the flick.

Making special effects out of this world while keeping special effects budgets down to earth. We talk to Jon Favreau, who’s moved from directing a modestly priced kids adventure called Zathura to the helm of the blockbuster epic Iron Man.

The interview is available in Windows Media, QuickTime, and…gag… RealAudio formats.

via KCRW (link)

Jon Favreau has posted a picture at his MySpace page of himself and producer Peter Billingsley with lots and lots of guns. Yes, Peter is holding a Red Rider BB gun in the shot. Jon claims he’s doing research, but he looks pretty…’hem…uh… wasted in the shot. Is he trying to find his own inner-Stark, or just having one of those bad picture moments?

Gotta love it…

via Jon Favreau MySpace page (link)

I’ve got someone on the inside who is working on both the Transformers and Jon Favreau’s upcoming Iron Man movies. He’s sworn to secrecy, but we do know the following image is not what Tony Stark’s armour will look like in the Iron Man flick. Kind of look like a cross between Power Rangers and Ultraman.

This design was created by Brandon Perlow, who has done some TV and film graphics work. Looks pretty cool to me. You can find more of Brandon’s work at his website.

via Screen Rant (link)

Yesterday, during the Marvel Studios Analyst webcast, the company revealed more details on their future projects.

Direct-to-DVD Features Status
Ultimate Avengers 2 - Released 8/8/06
Iron Man - In production
Doctor Strange - In production
Teen Avengers - Development

TV Series
Fantastic Four - In production
Wolverine and the X-Men - Pre-production
Iron Man - Development
Spider-Man - Development

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I’ve heard the rumors floating around that Iron Man/Tony Stark might be played by none other than Tom Cruise. Jon Favreau has posted a response to that over at his blog.

I’ve never even met Tom Cruise, though I do think he is a great actor. He doesn’t seem to fit with what Marvel is looking for at this time, but you never know what will happen. The rumor is false as far as I know.

Via Iron Man MySpace forum (link)

Ain’t It Cool News has a quick interview with Jon Favreau on the Iron Man movie. In the interview Favreau hints that we’ll see the bulky grey suit of the original Iron Man before transforming into the red and gold. As we already mentioned on this site, the villian for the movie will be The Mandarin, and at this point no lead has been cast.

The interview concludes with a few comments about the John Carter Princess of Mars movie.

Via Ain’t It Cool News (link)

Jon Favreau posted on his blog on his take on the villian for his upcoming Iron Man movie.

I just got back from San Diego. The Marvel panel was great. The crowd seemed to really dig that we hired Adi Granov to help with the suit design. He joined the panel and got an enthusiastic response. He is listed in my top 8 if you want to send him a post. We signed the teaser poster he drew at the Marvel booth until the line was gone. It lasted well over an hour.

I also heard the James Bond has since planned to release its next installment on our same date: May 2, 2008. The only weekend of 2008 taken, I might add. I’m sort of surprised by the move by Sony as I’m sure we share some of the same audience. It feels like two cars fighting over the same spot in an empty parking lot. I guess they expect us to move. I really don’t get it.

Via Jon Favreau MySpace Blog (link)

One of the attendees at San Diego Comic Con has posted an image of the Iron Man preview poster over at director Jon Favreau’s Iron Man movie blog site. These poster were handed out during the Marvel presentation at the Con on Saturday. During the presentation, Favreau did remind the crowd that this will not be the final costume design.

Via MySpace forum (link)