MICKEY ROURKE, SAM ROCKWELL TO PLAY ‘IRON MAN 2’ VILLAIN(S)!
by Erik Davis Jan

Cinematical
1/07/breaking-mickey-rourke-to-play-iron-man-2-vil lain/
Jan 8 2009
CA

Talk about a comeback — Mickey Rourke has gone from wrestling his way
back into our hearts to getting cast in what is perhaps the biggest
blockbuster of 2010: Iron Man 2. Variety tells us that Rourke is in
talks to play a villain that’s described as "Tony Stark’s Russian
alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and
battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit." Though the
script isn’t finished yet, most likely the character will be that of
Crimson Dynamo.

>From Wiki: "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." THR, however,
mentions that Rourke is playing the villain Whiplash, who’s also
known as Blacklash, "a man with deadly, technologically enhanced
coils." Rourke also signed on to star in Sylvestor Stallone’s The
Expendables, as reported earlier, which means the man is taking all
he can get.

According to casting calls, they still need to cast an "Eastern
European, brilliant, gritty" male lead in his thirties and a "beautiful
[female lead who] speaks several languages fluently and is equally
proficient in martial arts" in her twenties, who is Tony Stark’s
assistant Natasha (as per THR). Mickey Rourke playing villain in
Iron Man 2? What do you think about all this? We’ll have more as it
develops — Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, 2010.

UPDATE: Sam Rockwell is also circling the role of Stark rival Justin
Hammer (which takes care of our "Eastern European, brilliant, gritty"
male lead").