In what may be the most brilliant or insane casting choice for a comic book hero ever; Robert Downey Jr has been casted to play Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.
I mean if anyone can portray an addict in a metal suit, it probably is Robert Downey Jr but it just seems so… odd.
I cheer
I always pictured the real Tony being more sturdy and chiseled, but I can see them emphasizing the “weak man strong in iron suit” angle to good effect. RDJ is great even when he’s in bad movies, so at least it has a chance of being better than the FF debacle.
Brilliant.^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
Like Guinness in a can. ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
Pardon me, I’m apparently a snob towards comic books and I don’t know who Tony Stark is.
And???
I work with a guy named Tony Stark. TRUE STORY.
Come on, Jakub.
Pardon me, I’m apparently a snob towards comic books and I don’t know who Tony Stark is.
Tony Starks is an AKA for the Ghostface Killah.
Funk.
its now official
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/film.ironman.reut/index.html?section=cnn_topstories
I’ve never read Iron Man, but is that the actual back-story on the character? He’s kidnapped and forced to make weapons, but dupes his kidnappers by making a super-suit instead?
“Hey, Stark-man, we say make missile. What you making there?”
“This is, um, a chestplate missle. Very top secret.”
“Huh. OK, is good.”
It isn’t any origin of Iron Man I’ve read BUT Iron is probably the most recon character in the Marvel Universe. The three I know of are:
Tony Stark was mortaly wounded in Vietnam and somehow used jeep parts to keep himself alive. He slowly built a suit of armor to keep himself alive and fight crime.
He is a mutant super genuis from birth and just invents things.
He is a smart leader of industry who discovers he has a brain tumor and wants to change the world for the better before he dies.
I vote for number 1. I guess it was a given that he’d be against War Machine. I was kinda hoping for some Avengers stuff, maybe as an end-of-movie teaser?
The CNN article implies that an updated version of origin #1 would be used, which makes the most sense.
I’m optimistic. I think Downey’s an underrated actor who has the chops to pull this off.
I wish they would make these superhero movies as period pieces. I hate seeing the blunt brilliance of Kirby and Ditko modernized and slickified to keep the property up to date for the kids. Give me the American-built Iron Lung Man:
not the pseudo-Japanese import model:
The #2 explanation is basically the Ultimate Iron Man version. #1 is basically the current version for 616 Iron Man.
Well, I remember reading an article about RDJ after he got released from prison (remember all his drug problems kept getting him tossed in)… anyway, he hugged a friend and his friend said that he was shocked at how much muscle Downey had put on in the slammer. All that weight lifting and nothing else to do.
#1 is the traditional 616-IM origin. 2 and 3 are Ultimate-universe specific, with 2 specifically being an Orson Scott Card retcon in Ultimate Iron Man to Mark Millar’s version of the origin that he did in The Ultimates.
EDIT: Since Wholly posted before I did, er, to add content, why did they not cast Tom Sellecksz!!!111
Er, “underrated” isn’t usually used to describe Downey. He’s generally referred to as a “genius” actor type.
Once you put the “Demon in a bottle” stuff in there I have to admit this is pretty good casting.
The Iron Lung version was forever dead once Bob Layton started drawing the book.
Excellent choice. It’s so rare to be pleasantly surprised in this way. Very creative.
Selleck might look the part (or might HAVE) but he lacks the same frenetic energy I would associate with this kind of superhero.