Downey Dishes More Iron Man II and Avengers Info

Downey Dishes More Iron Man II and Avengers Info

Brits don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, from the set of Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr expressed his thanks for a wondrous comeback this year, and dished us out a heaping helping of info on Iron Man II and The Avengers...

By ComicBookMovie - Nov 25, 2008 12:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man
Source: MTV

This from MTV...

Does having ridden such a personal and professional roller coaster color your perspective on this status you now have in Hollywood?

Downey: My life lessons were that the battles have to be hard fought and hard won. I certainly wouldn't wish it on an enemy, but as it stands right now, I'm MTV's "actor we're most thankful for." All this stuff does mean something. I grew up in and around MTV. I remember going to the MTV Video Music Awards with Anthony Michael Hall and David Lee Roth, driving down Fifth Avenue in a convertible Studebaker. David was wearing white gloves and tails. I was like, "Dude, is it ever going to get more modern than this?"

As you begin work on the sequel, what can or should be improved upon from the first "Iron Man"?

Downey: Our idea is that this one brings us much more beneath the armor of Tony. It's one thing to say you're Iron Man, but what does it actually mean to become someone that can shoulder that responsibility? As we noticed at the end, he's still not even responsible enough to read off the card that Shield and the government have given him. He still can't help doing his own thing. He'll have to come to terms with that. I think we could have more excitement. We could use a love triangle or two. I think it's really important to keep up that idea of Tony's interfacing with inanimate objects. He's at his greatest ease when he's faced with machines. I would love to see a little shout-out to the fact that he's an MIT graduate. I love the idea of him inviting over a bunch of super-nerds from MIT who wind up figuring into ["Iron Man 3"] a little bit.

You know that "The Avengers" movie is the one every comic book fan is salivating for.

Downey: That means if we don't get it right, it's really going to suck. It has to be the crowning blow of Marvel's best and brightest, because it's the hardest thing to get right. It's tough to spin all the plates for one of these characters.

Are you guys discussing "Iron Man 2" as a story that will feed directly into "Avengers"?

Downey: It seems natural that it would at least introduce that factor. My inclination is to bring it another step. The danger you run with colliding all these worlds is that Jon was very certain that "Iron Man" should be set in a very realistic way. Nothing that happened in "Iron Man" is really outside the realm of possibility. Once you start talking about Valhalla and supersized super soldiers and jolly green giants, it warrants much further discussion.

Click on the source link below to read the whole MTV article where Robert Discusses his new Sherlock Holmes movie.

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Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2008, 12:40 PM
MAN, i love having him on board and excited like Hugh Jackman! It just makes these movies worth watching for the public but even more so for the FANS!!! Finally, our prayers are heard. Unlike DC.
Justadjust
Justadjust - 11/25/2008, 12:52 PM
I agree. I think RDJ was the perfect choice. His background is very similar to Stark's and that brings a lot of humanity into the character. Same with Jon. If it wasn't for his "love" of the story and desire to be a part of this... world, non of this would work. I think the one deciding facter on the movies that "make it" is the passion that is brought to the table. When I hear of an actor or a director, ect. that has never heard of nor cares about the characters and story, it is doomed to fail. hint, hint. They need to stop making these movies to make money. Stay true and the money will make itself.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/25/2008, 12:54 PM
yeah i have high hopes. but hes right about having to mix these characters together properly. it needs to be done like the ultimates. thor should come accross like a nutjob hippie who may or may not be a real god. the hulks been established already so thats cool, id leave out hank pym..because i hate the character! black widow..no powers, hot as hell..yes please. cap, well that remains to be seen! i guess we need wasp in there too although that might be very tinkerbell looking...hawkeye? meh. who else do you think?
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2008, 1:39 PM
Well here's the deal. To me, a team shouldn't be more than 5. Some of them are essential but others aren't. Here's my pic:

-Captain America (Duh...leader)
-Ironman (right hand man and hot head cowboy)
-Thor (team's pet powerhouse)
-Scarlet Witch (a woman's magic touch)
-Wasp (visible minority brat)

I don't like Hulk as an avenger, he has to be a "menace" rather than the actuall bad guy which could be a puppeteer using Hulk. The team should need the help of others throughout a trilogy movie span like Doctor Strange, Sentry and hopefully Spidey(which will never happen because of Sony). Black Widow should be with sheild guiding the team from the base ops(kinda like LT. Commander Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5) while fury's out doing something secretive. Hank Pym sucks and so does Hawkeye. Lacking a touch of ebony? Well War Machine should cameo because i really don't see a point of bringing in Falcon. And Black Panther could too but only to lend a helping hand cause he's got bigger fish to fry...like his country.
IonParallax
IonParallax - 11/25/2008, 1:57 PM
I always dug Clint Barton, never understood why people despise the Hawkeye so much...He looks cool, he's a cool dude, no powers but still can kick some ass. All in all, pretty sweet. My personal Opinion of course.

Unfortunately, you kind of have to have Hank Pym, he sucks in general, but he is a founding member, alongside Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man. Then the Hulk leaves, and in comes Cappy.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/25/2008, 2:13 PM
i actually dont know why i hate hawkeye! just always have even as a kid. although i also hate green arrow so maybe im arrowgaphobic or sumtin. i think banner should join up, (which he will based on the end of hulk) but resist becoming the hulk until near the end..theres your villain. black panther could be cool but have u seen ultimate avengers 2? lets just say theyl have to do a better job. well i spose pym does have to be in there, but as ant man or giant man?
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2008, 2:41 PM
Well have Pym as a researcher, not an avenger. He could work on all the team's needs aside from Ironman's, althought him and Tony could get into techno scuffles LOL. That would be awesome, Pym's ascertiveness versus Stark's sarcasm ...awesome!

I don't see the Avenger starting out without their pillar Captain America. As for Hulk, if he isn't the "smart hulk that can talk", i can't see him as an actuall member. And if Hulk's the idiot powerhouse of the team then what's Thor's purpose? Just be a kickass god? Sounds too gratuitous.

As for Hawkeye, i have to go with Roarchach on that one. He serves the same purpose as Green Arrow in JLA... which is close to none, just being a powerless sharpshooter. These characters are no match for the gods they stand with. They're good for the neigborhood watch, nothing else. I even have a problem with Batman in the JLA, that's right, i said it. If he was just clever and didn't have Bruce Wayne's money to create all the technology in the world, he wouldn't be in JLA. It's like putting Moon Knight as an avenger... ain't gonna happen.

Well i didn't see the avengers animated movie but they are on my list of upcoming purchases. If i take your word for it, they can't do worse right? Still i bet it kicks the Superman/Doomsday movie's ass. Like Falcon could be cool in the Team but then that would take away Wasp's purpose and evidently make the team a little bit too testosterone driven. And as for War Machine, why have two Ironmen.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/25/2008, 3:41 PM
no man, the avengers is ten times worse than doomsday! i actually enjoyed that, even tho it pretty much came up with its own version of the story. evrything about the avengers from the voice acting to the animation is below par. the new weekly x men cartoon blows it out of the water.
CapnGeech
CapnGeech - 11/25/2008, 6:05 PM
Dude! i'm so happy that he's actually excited and wants to do this! thank goodness.
TheSoulEater
TheSoulEater - 11/25/2008, 6:22 PM
HE SAID VALHALA! HE SAID VALHALA!!!!!
saymekian
saymekian - 11/26/2008, 9:25 AM
Moon Knight WAS an Avenger.

Do you people even read comics?
Shaman
Shaman - 11/26/2008, 9:53 AM
Really ROAR! Man i had no idea, then i'm not gonna buy it. Settles that!

That's right! He did say VALHALA SoulEater(school girl giggle joygasm!) Can't wait!!!

Oh right saymekian, like he even mattered as a member. You have a point, i didn't read those specific issues and wasn't aware he "had been" an avenger. Tell me then, how was he indispensible exactly? And if we had to include every single member the avengers ever had with even the "honorary" ones, we'd have a freakin' "ultimate alliance" movie or mabe even a "secret wars" movie over here! Dude, this is the "avengers" movie. So how bout putting the members that have a reason and a purpose in the team to start. Then they can expand from there, only logical. Ever wonder why Jubilee didn't have a bigger part in the X-men trilogy? Cause she sucks and has no purpose! Freakin' fireworks... please...
adamant877
adamant877 - 11/26/2008, 1:06 PM
Personally, I think that I'm a little worried.
I keep hearing the same trademark comments made by the directors and the actors that we always hear from the studio and the production. "Too unrealistic, we'll need to make changes."

I personally don't understand the mentality. I understand from a marketing standpoint, you want to make sure that your investments will bring in the most amount of revenue possible, but there's something to be said about allowing artists to take risks. If there's no risk involved you end up with the same cookie-cutter material that we're ALL so sick-and-tired of seeing!

If it's worked for 40-60 years, why would you need to make drastic changes? (And I'm not talking about minor "updates", we all understand that those are more often than not a necessity.)

Marvel's universe consists of all possible realms of fantasy, not just science fiction, but magic as well. It's hard to wrap your head around even the possibility of the existence of magic, demons, gods, alternate realities, dimensions, etc. But if you're talented enough, you can make anything beleivable!

Don't get me wrong, I love the movies that Marvel is producing, and hope they will continue to provide us with the top-notch entertainment that we're currently seeing, Iron Man was great, even the new Incredible Hulk was good, but I am a comic book fan. I've been collecting for over 20 years, and I've seen what happens when they mess with things and make "alterations." It's never any good, and it's always in the best interest of the poeple with the most money in their pockets, not the fans.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I understand why the Mandarin wasn't the villian in the first movie, I know why people are afraid about how Thor will be portrayed in the Avengers, but if we keep telling ourselves that the ONLY alternative is to remove magic from the scenerio, I say you're wrong... Dead wrong.

Some of us (even us "over-the-hill" adults) still believe in magic (not technically, but figuratively, of course) and we want to continue to hear the those stories. We don't need to see every super hero we've ever known reduced to militaristic, sci-fi fare. Wolverine can still wear a mask in my book and not look ridiculous, Galactus SHOULD be a giant humanoid sentient being, not a cloud of space debris, and Thor IS A GOD! Not some whacked-out hippie (read the rest of the Ultimates line and you will find that it's true there as well!)

And please, for the love of God, stop trying to turn all of our action/adventure films into romance/action/comedy/adventure films! We're not stupid enough to miss what it is that you're trying to do, and it seriously undermines the source material!

O.k., I'm done with my rant now. You may all go about your business.
Move along...
Nothing to see here...
Shaman
Shaman - 11/26/2008, 2:30 PM
LOL, i love how "adamant" you are dude, there's just too few of us!

I see your point however there is a limit to what exactly can be put on the big screen, all while being believable, with the least amount of explanation provided. Wolverine should have his mask just like spidey for example. However, logan's character is very sarcastic and has a "i don't give a shit" attitude which makes it very believable for him to snear at the possibility of a costume.

As for Ironman, technology is very explanable and it would be very "caveman" like thinking to just have Tony appear in his armor without the slightest explanation of how it was created. The very THING that makes him cool is his technological advacement and of course to see him improve his armor fight after fight much like acquiring new levels in an RPG. Now to have "explanations" to back up this evolution is just icing on the cake. It's logical and makes it even more believable. Notice how they didn't push the extra yard trying to explain how Tony got to be so smart and a cut above other scientists. There was no need to. He's smarter then the average scientist just like there must be someone smarter than him in the world... it's how it works and it's believable.

As for GALACTUS, you're totally right, he should have been as he has always been "a giant humanoid sentient being" and "not a cloud of space debris". There was just no plausible excuse for them to make him a cloud. Superman is a believable alien humanoid and so should have been Galactus. I mean they did portray Silver Surfer correctly so where's the problem with Galactus. Same point for the giant squid in Watchmen. There is no "believable" need to alter these classics drastically like that.

As for magic, it has still yet to be proven by either side that it either exists or doesn't. Which gives it an ounce of probability. Most of the time, magic comes with a different era or a different realm. Meaning that "hey, if that world is fantasy, then so is the magic that comes with it" and that if you're up for a fantasy ride, then magic will pose no problem to you. However, to incorporate magic in a world that apears like ours, in a movie that was made to make us "believe" that it could exist in our everyday lives is a different story. For people like us who believe that magic could exist, it doesn't pose a problem and we'll line up for it. On the othe side of the "coin" so to speek, are the people that are very critical minded and simply won't swallow the "red pill". But in this day and age, people are warming up to the "superheroes in our very world" concept(as has proven TDK) which means that you are right in saying that the execs should realise it once and for all and concied to the "actuall fans". We are ready for it as a society.

But as for people worring about the concept of THOR on the big screen well... every character needs a purpose. A reason for being. You have to understand that THOR is a GOD. Gods are "existancial" beings meaning that they prefer to watch existance rather than to be a part of it. Galactus is one of the biggest existancial beings ever created in the comic books but even he has a reason for being a part of our realm. Sustenance and survival. Now, not only to simply have the god of thunder walk among us but also to "choose" to be part of a team of superheroes which has a purpose on it's own, requires at least a reason for it. Or else the only people that will enjoy the movie are the fans of that particular character. The rest of the people that will go see the movie because they're comic book fans or just because they saw the special effects in the trailer and though it looked cool, aren't gonna buy the story. I myself am one of those comic book fans and i've always though of THOR to be a cool character but never followed the comic book itself. I can't wait to see the movie but i can't help but worry that i might not like it as much as Ironman. I just hope that they will give everyone a great "believable reason" to go see it more than once.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/26/2008, 2:32 PM
dude i agree with you to a certain degree, but the problem is that alot of these directors/producers/scrip writers are NOT talented enough to make the magical elements believable, which is why i would rather have a good if watered down from the source material movie than one that is completely faithfull but sucks. but im sure there is the talent out there to do these characters justice, unfortunately they rarely get handed the scripts. and i know WE know thor is a god in the ultimates but his teammates are never really sure and i like that element. and yeah i really didnt see the point of having galactus as a cloud of vapour when the movie couldnr get any worse anyway!

shaman, theres a site called toonhaven where u can watch avengers and other stuff for sweet frick all!
Shaman
Shaman - 11/26/2008, 2:57 PM
Are you serious...like as in free for all??? It's what www.toonhaven.com or somethin? Gotta check that out as soon as i get a computer at home. Freakin job sucks, they won't pay me to watch cartoons dude...oooooh the humanity!!!
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/26/2008, 3:20 PM
yeah thats it, you can watch all sorts. ive been watching the new xmen, batman etc...theres a young avengers movie out now too. thats a disgrace, get out of that job forthwith!
Shaman
Shaman - 11/27/2008, 7:12 AM
Mabe i could take up my hobby as a job... salsa dancing. But let's face it, i'm a long way from "shaking my ass to pay the bills" as Jon Favreau mentionned in Daredevil.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 6:41 AM
Woah, Roar that website is cool!!! I checked it out last night, i watched the first Ultimate Avengers and i liked it! It's probably not the best animated movie i ever seen but i have to say i liked it more than Superman/Doomsday. The Doomsday movie was such a let-down. My expectations were too high and they still are. As for the avengers movie, Cap was decent as well as pretty much all their versions of the characters... but i felt THOR was a bit corny. For the first THOR movie, i'd rather have him wake up in our realm suffereing from amnesia as the result of LOKI's master plan to make him forget that he is the god of thunder. That would be kick ass!!! And then in the Avenger's movie, have him still yet to learn the ropes as being THOR and have to work that out. That's frankly the only logical purpose this character could have to be actually believable. Or else, the movie's just gonna look like another crappy version of "Masters of the universe". Ooh, this god comes down from the skies to help human kind...booooooorrrriiiiiinng! And very illogical.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 6:52 AM
After watching that animated movie, i got a better picture of each of the characters's personnality and if Wasp is anything like her animated version, then Eva Longoria is all wrong for the part. We would need an actress that looks like her yet can play a more serious role. The best girl for that job IMO is LEXA DOIG. One of her best performances was in JASON X (in fact she was the only decent part of the movie if you guys aren't Jason fans) but as a reference for WASP's character, look at her talents in Gene Roddenberry's ANDROMEDA.

And i still Hate with a passion Hank Pym. He sucks and his character in this movie sucked even more. As if HE would be a bigger hotshot than TONY...rriiiiiiight. Tony (probably because of Pym) wasn't at all the sarcastic cowboy rich kid he COULD have been. So i just can't see any reason to put Giant Man in the live action movie. He is of absolutly no use at all. Aside from being Wasp's husband but that can be aranged.
IonParallax
IonParallax - 11/28/2008, 8:37 AM
But he is one of the original 4 members of Avengers. It's a necessity. It would irk me if they didn't put him in, he may be a total douche-brain, but he is a founding member. There has to be Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and then Captain America. It just has to be.

Aaaaack, make no mentions if Masters of the Dance...That movie was deplorable. An absolutel abomination to the coolness that WAS He Man. Although, Skeletor in that gold armor was kind of badass.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/28/2008, 9:43 AM
see thats why i didnt like avengers, i had such high hopes after reading the ultimates..they totally pussied out on the more adult elements of the comic..for instance, you think pym was an asshole in the movie? in the comic he beats up wasp! and they lost alot of the irony of captain america in the comic..hes more of a parody of himself but it really works because i hate that character when hes taken too seriously. at one point the team is out numbered and someone mentions surrender..cap points at his head and says "you think this A stands for france" funny shit
IonParallax
IonParallax - 11/28/2008, 10:35 AM
One of the best lines ever.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 11:05 AM
Okay... That's a good ass line dudes LOLOL, Love it!!!

I totally get your point Roar, that movie was geared towards kids for sure... i hate it went they do that. But i never got to read more than the first 5 issues of "the ultimates" unfortunitally. It was one of my favorites though. I never knew that of Pym. hell he should be the bad guy then, he ain't no hero. And even as a hero, he sucks.

I do get your point as well ION, he is a founding member so for the story's sake, he could be part of the team but if he's going to be an asshole, then they better make him out to be a bad guy at the end. Sounds like praising "the comedian" as the best "hero" in the watchmen. That's just crazy talk. We already have a scientist, TONY and IF they put in Hulk, then they even have Banner! What else could we possibly NEED from this character?
IonParallax
IonParallax - 11/28/2008, 12:37 PM
Ok, my buddy just mentioned Jolene Blalock as Janet Van Dyne. Smoking hottie...PLayed the Vulcan chick on Enterprise.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 12:52 PM
WOAH!!! I just image-googled Jolene Blalock over here... Man i feel dehidrated from all the drool i'm loosing here...

Alright, i don't care, give her any role!!! Wasp, Black Widow, Scarlet witch, spider woman ANYTHING!!!!!!
IonParallax
IonParallax - 11/28/2008, 12:55 PM
Yeaaaa. The Vulcan she played di her absolutely NO justcie whatsoever.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 1:00 PM
Physically no but as for an acting background, it's great experience!!! I'd totally see her in the superhero realm, no matter who!
Shaman
Shaman - 11/28/2008, 1:01 PM
She would totally pull off Mary Marvel!!!
TheJUGGERNAUTBitch
TheJUGGERNAUTBitch - 12/20/2008, 1:16 AM
i once saw robert downey suck d1ck for coke.

really i did.

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