MickeyRourke

It's no secret that War Machine was going to rear his metallic, butt-kicking head in Iron Man 2 (presumably to shoot missiles at Mickey Rourke and crack wise), but now that Yahoo has debuted the first poster for the highly-anticipated film, we can stop wondering what War Machine is going to look like and start complaining about what he looks like. Such is the way of the internet!

My layman's knowledge of the Iron Man universe prevents me from going into extensive detail about this particular exoskeleton-o-destruction, but I'll go on the record with saying it looks pretty cool. Far bulkier than the sleek, agile Iron Man armor, it looks ready to karate chop it's way through a tank while on the way to throw a boat at a terrorist (and with that gatling gun arm, War Machine certainly ain't got time to bleed).

Of course, new toys and armors aside, it's important to remember that Don Cheadle will be inside the suit and unless he's murdering the British accent alongside George Clooney, Cheadle is always a joy to watch perform (I have a gut feeling that no one is going to miss Terrence Howard in the role). It's funny to think that a tentpole summer release will feature Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell all trying to destroy/one-up/defeat each other...with a cast as talented as that and with armor as cool as this, Iron Man 2 has a lot of high quality ingredients on its plate. I expect nothing less than greatness come summer 2010.

A third video from the set of Iron Man 2 has arrived online courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, and this one -- which you can watch after the jump -- centers on Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, featuring interviews with director Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow. There's not a whole lot of additional information provided, though I did find it interesting that Paltrow said most of Rourke's work with her character so far has been done opposite her stunt double -- which means Pepper Potts will be getting in on a lot more of the action this time around ... and I think that's pretty cool.

Also in the video is a whole bunch of Mickey Rourke in action as Whiplash, however all we really see of him is a scene that has him pushed up against a fence while he uses his whips to trash a car. I can only imagine how cool that will look once it's all polished and up on the big screen.

Check out the video after the jump. Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7.

Entertainment Tonight was on the set of Iron Man 2 over the summer, and in true ET fashion they teased the set footage before the actual air date of said footage (on Thursday), and, of course, that teaser is making its way around the internet today. From the looks of it, the day ET was on set was when they were shooting that racetrack scene -- which included Mickey Rourke's first appearance as Whiplash and a bloody Tony Stark. We've already seen images from the racetrack (they were two of the first to be released, see one above), and the Iron Man 2 footage previewed at Comic Con revealed more of what I imagine will be the film's first major set piece.

Check out the ET teaser video after the jump, and tune in on Thursday for the full reveal. Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, 2010.

Those of you familiar with the Whiplash character and with comic book movies in general probably already figured out that Mickey Rourke's version of the Iron Man villain will don more than one costume in the upcoming sequel. The only image released so far (see above to the right) shows his make-shift Whiplash costume -- which, we imagine, will change and become more efficient by the time he and Iron Man come to final blows. So now one question remains: what will the final Whiplash look like when all is said and done?

Well, he may look similar to the new version of Whiplash pictured above. This November, Marvel will debut a four-issue Iron Man vs. Whiplash limited series, which promises to bring you up to speed on the villainous Whiplash and help you learn a little more about the character before he makes his big-screen debut on May 7, 2010.

The first issue, due out on November 4th, comes with the following description: "Before he strikes in "Iron Man 2," meet the all-new, all-different, all-deadly Whiplash in this special in-continuity adventure! Who is Anton Vanko and why does he blame Tony Stark for the murder of thousands? For that matter, why does the United Nations? Brannon Bragga (TV's "24") and Marc Guggenheim (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and artist Phil Briones (SUB-MARINER: REVOLUTION) have the answers!"

If Whiplash looks anything like that pic above, we're in for a pretty cool ride. Check out another image of Whiplash fighting Iron Man over on Marvel.com, and click below to see a larger version of the image above.



[via Comics Alliance]

By: Jenni Miller

It wasn't until fairly recently that voice acting in video games was done by either no-name actors trying to pay the bills or B- and C-list actors who were, well, also trying to pay the bills. The Command and Conquer games began employing a mixed bag of actors in its 1999 iteration, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, when they managed to snag Luke Skywalker's big daddy James Earl Jones, but otherwise continued casting random character actors like Udo Kier and Barry Corbin in future games like Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2.

Grand Theft Auto III changed the game, literally, with its roster of recognizable names and voices like Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Debi Mazar, and Kyle MacLachlan all playing parts in the free-for-all crime cape that make Rockstar Games just that. With GTA III's massive sales and buzz (particularly from angry parents), the scene was set for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which boasted an over-the-top cast particularly appealing to its target audience: Dennis Hopper, Danny Trejo, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Debbie Harry, Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, and Jenna Jameson, just to name a few.

However, in an interview with Game Informer magazine, Rockstar prez and co-founder Sam Houser later said, "We're not going to put a famous voice in just because it's a famous voice. We're going to get someone who sounds wicked for the character, and if they're not famous it doesn't bother us at all. Because I don't even think that is the talent."

Read the rest at Cinematical

The first image of Mickey Rourke as the villain Whiplash in Iron Man 2 has arrived online ... and I'm kinda diggin' the whole get-up. He looks like a biker baddie; the sort of dude you don't want to meet down a dark alley. Here's Elisabeth Rappe reporting for Cinematical:

The first look at Mickey Rourke as Iron Man's new nemesis, Whiplash, has hit the Internet courtesy of USA Today. As it's a rather large photo, I've put it in our Iron Man 2 gallery below, so I hope you don't mind a little extra clicking!

Rourke is playing Ivan Vanko, a Russian ex-con (notice the prison tattoos) who has constructed his own version of an Iron Man suit. Of course, he has all kinds of nifty little additions such as a pair of whips, powered by the suit's glowing chest piece. But Jon Favreau won't say whether or not Vanko works for Stark Industries' rival Justin Hammer, as he does in the comics. "We like to play into and against the expectations that people might have so, we mixed it up a bit." Here he's making his first appearance not just online, but to the Marvel world at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.

Check out a larger image over at Cinematical.

Discuss: Does Mickey Rourke look like the villain from an Iron Man movie or a rejected Mad Max character ... or both?

Above: Mickey Rourke visited a Russian prison to prepare for his role in Iron Man 2

From Cinematical

In an new and fascinating interview with Mickey Rourke over at The Guardian, the actor touches upon everything from his days living in a $600-a-month apartment to his comeback role in The Wrestler to losing his entire family to the preparations he had to make for his part in Iron Man 2 to how he really feels about all these superhero movies. One part you Iron Man fans might find interesting was when Rourke talks about having to learn Russian for his role as Tony Stark's nemesis Ivan (aka Whiplash). According to Rourke, he'll be speaking Russian for most of the film.

He says, "I decided to do half my role in Russian, and that's hard because the Russian language doesn't roll off the English-speaking tongue very easily. I spent three hours a day with a teacher, and after two weeks I know four sentences! Let me see, it's sort of like... 'Yezzamee menya... Yezzamee manya obott... Er, nemaboootty menya...'" He later adds the translation: "If someone kills me, don't wake me up, because I'd rather be dead than live in your world."

Read the rest on Cinematical