When
Iron Man graced theaters in 2008, audiences caught a few quick glimpses of the iron-clad superhero's father, Howard Stark. The minor role, originally played by Gerard Sanders, grew a big larger for the recently released
Iron Man 2. Sanders did not return for the sequel, though; it was John Slattery who portrayed the older Stark in flashpage footage.
Several weeks ago the director of both Iron Man films, Jon Favreau, revealed that audiences will see a very different Howard Stark in the Marvel movie future... or should I say past. Howard Stark will be an integral part of Joe Johnston's
Captain America: The First Avenger which begins filming next month in the UK:
“Yeah, because he was around then. ['Captain America'] is World War II. It wouldn’t be that same actor, probably, because he would be much younger.[Howard Stark] was starting out during that time, and [he] was involved with the war effort, much like Howard Hughes.”
And right he was.
Salon.com recently interviewed Dominic Cooper while the actor was attending Cannes to promote his film
Tamara Drewe. Cooper revealed to them that he is
"slated to play Howard Stark (aka, Iron Man's father) in the upcoming 'Captain America.'"
That makes three different men that will end up collaborating to bring the once war mongering, turned world saving, industrialist to life on the silver screen. Though the past two times Stark Senior appeared may have been brief, Cooper's time on film will definitely show his importance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to dialogue from
Iron Man 2, Howard Stark was not only a wealthy man who wanted to change the world, but a founding member of the clandestine government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. It's also very safe to assume that Stark will have a hand in the Super Soldier Program, which birthed the film's title character, Captain America.
Information courtesy of Salon.com