SDCC: ‘Iron Man 2′ Unveils War Machine and More

Published by Jeff Leins on July 27, 2009

In 2007, director Jon Favreau and Marvel burst into Comic-Con with jaw-dropping footage that turned heads towards the lesser known (at the time) Iron Man.  The movie eventually earned $318.4 million in the U.S. alone and found a spot among the best comic book movies ever made.  “It all started here,” Favreau told the crowd before this year’s Iron Man 2 panel got underway.

In a way, the success is a blessing for Favreau and friends returning to 2009’s Comic-Con, but it also meant they had to deliver something even better this time.  Favreau was joined on stage Saturday by Marvel’s President of Production Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Don Cheadle, an amazing line-up before even premiering any footage.  They brought some any way as a “thank you” for the support so far.

The five minute sizzle reel served to introduce the new characters to the old fans.  In the clip, Tony Stark/Iron Man rejects an offer to join forces with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and refuses to turn in the “dangerous” suit of armor to the government (a Senator played by Gary Shandling).  The new Lt. Rhodes (Cheadle) dons a power suit of his own as War Machine (concept art left).  Mickey Rourke swings his home-made electronic whips as the villain Whiplash and Rockwell deals arms to shady characters.  Johansson makes an appearance as an ass-kicking Black Widow.  I don’t have a bootleg video, but if you want a shot-by-shot explanation check out Slashfilm’s recollection.

During the Q&A portion, the panel seemed a bit annoyed with an overzealous moderator from Access Hollywood who praised them one by one.  (The 6,000+ fans booed him as he took the stage.)  LameGuy asked what Johansson’s audition was like, which was met with mostly jokes from the actors since ScarJo is clearly a proven actress by now.  Favreau said she trained hard to do most of her stunts as Black Widow, a Russian spy in a skin-tight leather cat suit.

An audience member asked about the anticipated Avengers movie, which will combine Iron Man with many of the other Marvel heroes.  Favreau said he was “looking forward to helping in some capacity” but he hadn’t discussed it with Feige.  More on that movie later…

Cheadle addressed replacing Terrence Howard as Rhodes by saying it is dealt with quickly but “elegantly” in the movie and he leeched off his performance before making it his own.  When someone compared his good guy role to the villain role in The Meteor Man, everyone had a laugh before Cheadle denied that movie’s existence.  I think we all wish that one never happened.

If you’re interested in watching the panel, you can watch it in its entirety on YouTube, except for the copyrighted footage from the film.