Entertainment Weekly's coverage of Iron Man 2 did more than just show Scarlett Johansson in her Black Widow costume. It also revealed a few spoilers about the upcoming sequel. WARNING: If you'd like your Iron Man 2 viewing to remain unspoiled, time to stop reading.
Most superhero movie sequels are given the "double villain" treatment and Iron Man 2 is no different. However, this time villains Mickey Rourke as Whiplash and Sam Rockwell as weapons-manufacturing rival Justin Hammer won't be working alone. They'll be joined in their fight against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) by ... a cockatoo? Rourke explains the need for his new right-hand, er, shoulder, man.
I told [director Jon] Favreau, "I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----." He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I'm making my suit.
Johansson's Black Widow will be complicating matters, specifically for Stark's former assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). "The men want it to be, like, 'Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,' but it's not as standard as that," explains Paltrow. Downey Jr. agrees that there's a "a weird male catfight fantasy" to contend with between the two women, but this is the Iron Man franchise, as Downey is quick to point out.
We're horny. Not, like, can't-bring-your-kids horny, but just ... horny.
The replacement of Terrence Howard's Colonel Rhodes with Don Cheadle will also be addressed "in one exchange," says Cheadle. "We're not trying to fool people."
Considering the pressure put on a sequel whose predecessor was as successful as Iron Man, there are likely plenty more suprises in store. No one is more aware of that, however, than Downey Jr.
There are a lot more invisible eyes on us now. People are going to be more critical. That's their prerogative.... In a way, there's no way to win, except to win. Big.