Image of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash for Upcoming IRON MAN 2

IRON MAN II is COMING SOON
IRON MAN 2 is well on the way for a Summer 2010 release and this (first) image of Mickey Rourke as the villain Whiplash has been released over the internet.

Whiplash sports a power pack on his chest that looks similar to the one used by Iron Man. "The technologies are definitely related," says director Jon Favreau. "That's part of the core theme of the film." The villain's alter ego, Ivan Vanko, is a Russian who "has constructed his own version of a suit," Favreau says. Among the creative innovations: a pair of whips, powered by the suit's glowing chest piece, that are expected to keep Iron Man cracking.

The rest of the cast have already been named.
Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Virginia "Pepper" Potts,
Don Cheadle will play Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes / The War Machine, as he is replacing Terrence Howard from the first film. Howard said, "There was no explanation [...] apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on, sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up." Entertainment Weekly stated Favreau had not enjoyed working with Howard, often reshooting and cutting his scenes; Howard's publicist said he had a good experience playing the part, while Marvel chose not to comment. As Favreau and Theroux chose to minimize the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss lowering his salary – Howard was the first actor hired in Iron Man and earned the largest salary of the cast. The publication stated they were unsure whether Howard's representatives left the project first or if Marvel chose to stop negotiating. Theroux denied the part of the report stating "the role of War Machine was scaled back and then beefed up". Cheadle only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo. He commented he is a comic book fan, but felt there are not enough black superheroes.
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury: Jackson initially had financial problems with Marvel and was unsure about reprising the part of Fury (he appeared in the first Iron Man movie, at the scene found at the tail of the end credits), until they reached a deal that would entail his appearance in nine films as the character.


New Characters
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer: Rockwell was considered for the role of Tony Stark in the first film, and he accepted the role of Hammer without reading the script. He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware Hammer is an old man in the comics, whereas in the film he will be around Stark's age.
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow: Johansson was cast after a scheduling conflict forced Emily Blunt to drop out of the part.
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan: The Director of this movie, who is also a talented comedian and actor who also played Franklin "Froggy" Nelson in the Daredevil movie takes on the role of Tony Stark's chauffeur & personal assistant.
John Slattery as Howard Stark, Tony's father

The film will be released on May 7, 2010.