The rumor river is flowing again, this time giving us word that Tim Robbins will play Tony Stark’s father Howard Stark in the comic book movie sequel Iron Man 2. The character was portrayed briefly during the slide-show presentation at the beginning of the first film by Gerard Sanders, but director John Favreau wanted:
…to get a good actor because he didn’t think the guy who played Howard in the last film could carry such an important scene.
It’s no surprise after the changing of Rhodey from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle not too long ago that Favreau would want a better quality actor to portray such an important character. After all this is Tony Stark’s father, the man who helped shape him into the man we know.
Since the flashback scene will presumably take place when Tony Stark is a young boy (as that’s when his father died) we have no problem with Robbins being believable as Downey Jr’s father. Thinking of it in that way I actually think Robbins could play the fatherly role very well, he’s certainly proven his worth previously with the likes of The Shawshank Redemption and Jacob’s Ladder.
As an added rumor bonus it’s floating around that the characters of Hawkeye and Black Widow will not only be in the film but will also have a significant presence as opposed to just cameos. I’m not a dyed in the wool Iron Man comic book fan so I have no frame of reference as to how these two will fit into the Iron Man 2 movie storyline. Any people who are in the know, please be sure to enlighten me. 
However these are just rumors (presumably, anyway) at the moment and therefore they should be taken with a big grain of salt. If they do turn out to be true, though, what are your thoughts on these decisions, particularly the Robbins one?
Source: Latino Review
Loading ...
45 Comments
Geez I hope not, I absolutely hate Tim Robbins… I hope nobody gives him any more acting jobs and he simply fades into the realm of the has-beens…
I think Robbins is a very versitile actor. I believe he would add to IM2 success.
As to Hawkeye and Black Widow, having too many superheroes or villians hasn’t been done well as yet (with the exception of X-Men, X-Men 2). These are only 2 extra heroes, so it could be done very well and since Favreau is directing, I have confidence IM2 will be a success (if the rumors turn out to be true).
lol, Suppousedly this author does not agree with you Ken J
I suppose not, but we don’t HAVE to all agree right? Anyway, he’s not a bad actor in his older films, but I haven’t liked any of the roles he picks, not even back when I thought he was a good actor. Shawshank Redemption was probably his best I think, but even that, I don’t really associate with a movie that sympathizes with criminals. And his situation was just way too coincidental to believe.
But anyway, I’m mainly talking about him in real life, not his acting. The guy is all like “no war, make peace” yet he’s lashing out at people, cursing people out, threatening to kill people, I mean, what a hypocrite. Remember when he called that reporter and threatened to kill him? I mean seriously, I really lost respect for him after that point. Not that I had a whole lot of it before then…
I don’t dislike Robbins enough to avoid his movies, as I do with Sean Penn. I just can’t get past his off camera publicity. I don’t like the guy and I can’t watch him in a movie – Oscar contender or not.
Vic
For those who don’t know, nudges Ross, Hawkeye and Black Widow are not unlikely villains when you first meet them in the comics. Hawkeye is hired by Black Widow, who is a Russian spy. But they become close associates to Tony Stark and they later on join the Avengers team.
I believe Hawkeye was trained by Captain America at some point, because it referenced in Fallen Son series.
“I don’t dislike Robbins enough to avoid his movies, as I do with Sean Penn. I just can’t get past his off camera publicity. I don’t like the guy and I can’t watch him in a movie – Oscar contender or not.”
Thats a perfect way to say something about someone you dont like, not going and saying stuff like “hes a moron” or “shes a moron but shes hot” those types of comments can be left out.
@Oscar!
Rationalize away, but “I don’t like the guy” is different from “you sound like a moron.”
As far as I can tell (and feel free to correct me) Ken J didn’t insult anyone directly in his comments.
Vic
Not on this one, but on the Maggie Q post.
Ah, ok – I see what you’re referring to. But he wasn’t insulting you or anyone here on the site. I kind of see your point but my issue is with commenters attacking each other, it’s not about insulting actors (although I don’t agree with that either).
Vic
Hey, yea- Hawkeye was one odf the superheroes in the 90’s Iron Man cartoon, he had losts of superheroes with him, including War machine. the were not called anything, like avengers, they where just superheroes that helped Iron man in this awfull cartoon, that feautred a 3d iron man transforming scene. Was black widow there to? not to sure, she might have been…
sorry bout that Vic, i shouldnt have said anything anyways. I really hope they can fit all these cool characters in together. I agree with alot of people on Thor being the hardest to fit in, but with the right story and realism it can work out great
I really wished they could have done this with DC movies, im glad Marvel is trying to make this work. Even in comics its very exciting seeing heroes from other comics appear on the one your reading, i expect to get the same kind of glee while watching Marvel films 
Oh no, Oscar doesn’t like me. What will I do now??
I think Sean Penn is an idiot too…
OK, I said that just to mess with you man, don’t have an aneurism, please.
@Oscar
No problem, bud.
@Ken J
LOL, can you dial it back just a TINY bit?
Vic
On the topic of Hawkeye and Black Widow being in Iron Man 2, they were actually introduced in the original Iron Man comics as villains of Shellhead. Black Widow was a Russian spy sent to steal Iron Man’s secrets (the dirty commie!) and Hawkeye was a gifted archer that she tricked into working for her, using his trick arrows to fight the Golden Avenger in a bunch of the 60-70s stories.
Eventually, Hawkeye reformed, eventually leading the West Coast Avengers team and Black Widow was a big supporting character of the Iron Man books in the early 2000s when they started up Volume 3, working as an ally/potential love interest for Stark there.
Black Widow’s now the love interest/ally of Captain America in his book (I refuse to call him New Cap or Winter Soldier or any of that crap, Steve all but personally handed Bucky the shield).
I try to seperate actors personal lives with their acting roles – that’s why I still maintain that Tom Cruise is indeed a fantastic actor (when he takes the right roles) despite his real life antics. Same with Brad Pitt – a lot of people seem to rubbish him because “he’s so famous!” but actually he’s a tremendous actor.
I don’t think it’s fair to judge an actor’s acting skills on what they get up to off camera. A good actor is a good actor no matter what they’re like in real life. IMO, of course.
Hawkeye and Black Widow? Hell yes! Just another reason in a long list of reasons to watch Iron Man 2.
@Michael N
Cheers for the re-cap. Saves me wandering around wiki for the next 2 hours!
Btw guys thanks for the feedback about the Hawkeye and Black Widow characters – there’s some really knowledgable fans out there!
Keep up the good work^_^
@ Ken J, no it might not be love lol but i dont hate you
So far(some through rumors, and some through the actual director) its gonna be Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and a little flashback with possibly Captain America in it. WOW!!!!
@ Ken J, I couldnt find any chill pills, so i took one of those Flinstones vitamins, those are some tasty vitamins
Doesn’t Tony Stark marry the Black Widow in the ultimates comic?
I have no problem with Robbins in what (hopefully) is a smaller role. I would PREFER Sellek, of course.
As for Widow and Hawkeye. I think we’re getting a little crazy with the supporting people. We got Rhodey and he SHOULD take a large part of the movie that isn’t RDJr-focused. Then there was talk that Happ & Pepper would have a little more storyline for themselves. NOW we are talking about adding flashbacks and 2 more characters!?! This movie will have to be 4 hours long to feel like a solid beginning-middle-end story and not just a hodge-podge of superpowers with little story behind them (see X-Men movies, Heroes at its worst, Spider-Man 3, the older Batman sequals, etc).
We love Iron Man (the movie) because it focused on ONE story that encompassed everything – let’s not water the sequal down by shoe-horning all these people into it. I want a lot of Iron Man and a little of War Machine and some baddies. THat’s it!!
Tim Robbins would make a good Howard Stark..He’s a great actor is a little underrated as an actor I think..
@ Ken J
WHat’s wrong with no war make peace..sonner or later cooler heads have to prevail .. war is bad Ken ..peace is good…
i would LOVE a 4 hour Iron Man II
That will never happen though 
@fmuff
Tom Selleck? Yes, I think he would make a better Stark father; well, he looks more the part, anyway. I still think Robbins is a better actor but Selleck is good too.
@greenknight
LOL, of course it is – only problem is that you have to get the guy who’s attacking you to see that point of view.
Vic
@fmuff
X-men2, BladeII and The Dark Knight had several secondary character storylines and IMO were very good films. The problem with Spiderman 3 and X-men United and some many others were that the stories were either not good or told incomplete. Just my IHMO.
I honestly am glad (if the rumor is true) that Black Widow and Hawkeye are written into the film. I have faith in RDJ and Jon F. ability to take care of this film, and if both new characters are introduced in Ironman 2 then that would save time from introducing them in the Avengers.
Also my picks for Black Widow would be the following:
1.Kate Beckinsale
2.Milla Jovovich
3.Angelina Jolie
4.Hilary Swank
5.Jennifer Garner
6.Kristanna Loken
My pick for Hawkeye are the following:
1.Mark Wahlberg
2.Thomas Jane
3.Matt Damon(would make a better DD)
4.Matthew McConaughey(would perfer as Cap)
5.Viggo Mortensen
I’d love to see Viggo Mortensen in a marvel flick. Thor?
As for the news items, I don’t like them adding Robbins. They don’t need a name or big salary paid to a name to sell the movie. On top of that, I’d actually prefer an unknown or more unrecognizable face to play the role of Mr. Stark as that would make the story more real to me as opposed to a star-studded fun fest. After that War of the World performance, I don’t think this is a good idea. I personally disagree with Favreau’s logic on that one.
Now for part 2:
I love Hawkeye. But I don’t think there’s room in this film to give him and Black Widow story time since we already know War Machine will be a big player. Also, we REALLY don’t need more additions to the Avengers team if we want to give the big characters (iron man, hulk, thor, captain america) their fair share of screen time and story placement. There’s also going to be Wasp and Ant-Man in that group too I think so it’s going to get messy.
What I hear about things like Robbins or more characters added, I start get get fearful and have these awful nightmares about X3 and Spidey 3.
In my opinion, the movie should HEAVILY focus on Iron Man fighting a real villain (hugely lacking in IM), with a bunch of time given to War Machine. We don’t need a team up flick here.
IF they are going to be in this movie, it better be done right. The worst thing ever would be for IM2 to be a big disappointment.
Ah, but if they are the villains of this story to become good at the end – that would change things quite a bit.
On the other hand, After ALL 3 Spidey films, I’m getting bored of villains not being very villainy in the end.
What's your opinion? Leave a Reply!
Go to Gravatar.com and upload your own (we'll wait)!