No Mickey Rourke as ‘Iron Man 2’ Villain, Downey Says

Earlier last month, rumor emerged on the Internet that Mickey Rourke, who is now going through a renaissance of his career, would bring more joys to his fans by starring as the villain in “Iron Man 2.” While nothing of this was confirmed at the time, word had it that Rourke’s involvement was almost a certain thing – not so much, Robert Downey Jr. is now telling MTV News.

Since Rourke as the villain in “Iron Man 2” is not something that fans of the comics-based film can easily overlook, it’s no wonder that MTV chose to set the record straight during a recent interview with Robert Downey Jr. Much to the disappointment of fans, the leading man says that they will not be seeing Rourke as the baddie Iron Man will face in the sequel.

“That’s actually incorrect,” Robert told MTV when asked whether Rourke would play The Crimson Dynamo in the sequel. However, since conflicting rumors have been making the rounds for months regarding Rourke’s involvement in “Iron Man,” MTV also thought to ask if there was a chance of him taking on another baddie, Whiplash. “I can neither confirm nor deny that,” Downey said. “Or maybe it’s some semblance of both. Here, I can tell you everything about the story except I won’t give away the ending. The nerd stuff is top-drawer security.” the actor added.

While, according to Robert, Rourke will not take on any villain for the upcoming “Iron Man,” word in the media has it that he will be involved in the project in one way or another – exactly in which is still to be determined. What is certain so far is that Mickey Rourke has not yet signed any contract for a part in the film.

“Iron Man 2” is scheduled for a theatrical release in May 2010, and will start shooting this spring in Manhattan Beach, best case scenario. Since spring is still a long way from here, Rourke’s involvement in the film should be made clear by that time. So, stay tuned here for more details on this.