S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson might have received the cold shoulder from Tony Stark in "Iron Man," but he'll get at least two more chances to earn a warm reception from Marvel movie audiences when he returns in "Iron Man 2" and "Thor."
Played by Clark Gregg, Agent Coulson will return for both the "Iron Man" sequel and Kenneth Branagh's "Thor," according to Variety. The return of Gregg's character only further confirms the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D. throughout the overarching Marvel movie narrative — a common line likely to culminate in the superhero team-up film "The Avengers."
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Last week, we gave you a peek at the new armor Iron Man will sport in the "Invincible Iron Man" comic book series. Some liked, some hated it, and some were blinded by the all the lights on it.
Nevertheless, we have another peek at the armor today, as it graces the cover of the February issue of "Previews," the monthly comic book retailer catalog. The image features ol' shellhead reaching for the stars in his shiny new suit, which will debut in April's "Invincible Iron Man" #25.
The issue of "Previews" arrives in stores January 27, but you can get a full-on image of the cover here on Splash Page. Read more...
Marvel Comics debuted a new look for Iron Man today, and unsurprisingly, the sleek new look for Tony Stark's alter ego finds inspiration in the Marvel movie universe.
According to Marvel.com, the Iron Man new armor in the comics was conceived by "Invincible Iron Man" writer Matt Fraction and Ryan Meinerding, designer on the "Iron Man" and "Thor" films. The armor is set to debut in April's "Invincible Iron Man" #25.
"The inspiration for the new design came from thinking about a sleeker, leaner, tougher Iron Man," explained Fraction. "If technology is increasingly getting smaller and lighter it seems like the Iron Man should do the same: ergonomic and aerodynamic. We were looking for something that felt as sleek and glossy as a sports car Tony Stark would covet. I love what we've come up with. It feels like the next evolutionary step in the Iron Man's design." Read more...
EDITOR'S NOTE: With 2009 behind us and "Iron Man 2" just a few months away from hitting theaters, MTV News contacted War Machine co-creator Bob Layton to discuss the character's upcoming debut on the big screen. The conversation covered a wide range of subjects that we're rolling out this week in a four-part series — continuing with today's discussion of Jim Rhodes' debut in the first "Iron Man" and the switch from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle for the sequel.
Over the last 30 years, Bob Layton and David Michelinie have earned a reputation as one of the definitive “Iron Man” creative teams. And according to Layton, his status preceded him when he met Robert Downey Jr. on the set of “Iron Man 2” last summer.
“When I was on the set of ‘Iron Man 2’, Robert Downey Jr. was like 'What did you think? Were you happy?'" Layton told MTV News. “He was so concerned with whether we were pleased with his performance as the character. I told him, ‘Dude, you knocked it out of the park! You were amazing.’" Read more...
EDITOR'S NOTE: With 2009 behind us and "Iron Man 2" just a few months away from hitting theaters, MTV News contacted War Machine co-creator Bob Layton to discuss the character's upcoming debut on the big screen. The conversation covered a wide range of subjects that we're rolling out this week in a four-part series — starting with today's chat about the origins of War Machine and the man under the armor, James "Rhodey" Rhodes.
In over 40 years of “Iron Man” comics, few creators have been more influential than Bob Layton and David Michelinie. The long-time collaborators have co-written almost 100 issues of “Iron Man” over the course of the series.
Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes (a.k.a. War Machine) is perhaps their most significant contribution to the “Iron Man” mythos. Created in "Iron Man" #118 with artist John Byrne, Rhodes was originally introduced as a soldier who helped Tony Stark escape from behind enemy lines before going on to become his best friend and confidant. After Layton and Michelinie left the series for the first time, Rhodes eventually took over the role of Iron Man for a time. However, Rhodes was never intended as replacement for Stark, according to Layton. Read more...
Okay, so we're probably a long time away from developing a power source like the one powering Tony Stark's armor in "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2," but according to recent reports, we might be closer than you think to developing a version of "smart" armor like the one protecting Iron Man and War Machine.
According to Discovery News, scientists at a U.S. miltary facility in Michigan are currently researching applications for "piezoelectric" armor that can not only detect the size of bullets shot at it, but also identify the damage inflicted and generate small amounts of electricity in response. All of this could potentially allow for a similar heads-up display of the armor's current level of damage, weak points and various other conditions Tony Stark is alerted to while wearing the Iron Man armor.
"As a kid, everyone played those video games that showed you how much armor you had left as a percentage bar," said John Wray, a contractor for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. "That's exactly what we're working on here and more." Read more...
The arrival of War Machine on the "Iron Man 2" poster has set the comic book community ablaze with fanboy joy, but don't forget about the first armor-wearing rival that shared screen time with Tony Stark — Obidiah Stane, the Iron Monger, played by Jeff Bridges in the first "Iron Man."
Bridges won't be returning for the "Iron Man" sequel — after all, his character is suffering from a bad case of, well, death — but the actor did speak about his time on the Marvel movie during a recent interview with In Contention.
But from the sound of his comments, maybe Bridges wouldn't even want to come back. The actor revealed certain anxieties involved in filming "Iron Man," the major one being... the lack of a script? Read more...
Wu-Tang Clan member and comic book fan Ghostface Killah, who filmed a cameo in "Iron Man" as a Dubai tycoon, never ended up making it into the final cut of the film—even though his "We Celebrate" video did. So, when we sat down with the man who goes by the name "Tony Starks" to discuss his upcoming album plans, we had to ask if he's giving it another shot with "Iron Man 2."
Unfortunately, Ghost said he hasn't heard from director Jon Favreau or anyone else involved with the film... yet.
"I don't know about this new Iron Man s---," Ghost told MTV News. "They didn't call me, so I'm not in it." Read more...
"Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn already has one comic book movie in the works, and his name's been dropped in connection with a potential adaptation of "American Jesus," as well as being attached to "Thor" well before Kenneth Branagh joined the project.
So, since it's pretty safe to say Vaughn knows his comics fare, we had to ask him whether there's a dream project out there that he's dying to bring from comics to the big screen—other than "Kick-Ass," of course.
"[I'd] love to do 'The Avengers,'" Vaughn told MTV News. "And Superman... I think it would be great to reinvent Superman." Read more...
When it comes to movies, a well-received first outing almost always calls for an even better follow-up, and in the case of the in-development "Iron Man" franchise, fandom has set its collective expectations high. But while Don Cheadle acknowledges fan excitement, the "Iron Man 2" star explained that the mindset behind the sequel is primarily rooted in expanding on what worked in the first film.
When asked about the general conversation that took place with director Jon Favreau on the "Iron Man 2" set, Cheadle explained that his motivation wasn't necessarily to make a bigger film, but a film that explored the ideas set during the first installment in a big way.
"You know, [topping the last film] wasn't really ever the discussion," Cheadle told MTV News, "We never said, 'How do we beat it?' in my opinion. We just said, 'How do we take what happened in the first film and pay it off now in the second film and really explore what it means now for a character to be going around as an actual super hero that everybody knows.'" Read more...
