Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell in Talks for "Iron Man 2"

[martinp1]

Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell in Talks for "Iron Man 2"
Wed, January 7th, 2009 at 3:43PM PST

Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are reported to be in talks to appear in "Iron Man 2"

Variety reported Wednesday that Mickey Rourke -- the actor who’s earned superlative praise for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” -- and Sam Rockwell -- the indie film fave who can currently be seen in "Frost/Nixon" -- are in talks with Marvel Studios to appear in the forthcoming sequel to the 2008 hit “Iron Man.”

Rourke, a star of 1980s cinema whose career was revived after an appearance in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s “Sin City” – also based on a comic book – is, according to Variety, rumored to play Crimson Dynamo, a burly, nuclear-powered answer to Robert Downey, Jr.'s svelte and suave Tony Stark/Iron Man.

The Hollywood Reporter, however, has Rourke confirmed to play a Russian named Ivan who becomes Whiplash, "a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils."

For his part, Rockwell is rumored to play Justin Hammer, "a multibillionaire businessman" and rival of Tony Stark. Rockwell recently starred as a sex-addicted con man in "Choke," based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name.

Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, “Iron Man 2” will be released by Paramount Pictures in the summer of 2010.