This morning, we reported that ‘Thor 2’ is in talks with Mads Mikkelsen to join Tom Hiddleston as another antagonist for the God of Thunder, but now news comes from the ‘Iron Man 3’ side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a few names have been added to the cast.
First, Comic Book Movie is reporting that William Sadler has been spotted on set with Guy Pearce, who is playing Aldrich Killian. No word as to what part the Grim Reaper from ‘Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey’ will play, but it’s unlikely that he’ll play a big baddie considering that department is already well stocked with James Badge Dale as Eric Savin/Coldblood and Ben Kingsley as an unnamed villain that I hope turns out to be The Mandarin.
However, that doesn’t mean that Shane Black is against adding more firepower to the mix… Literally! Collider reports that Ashley Hamilton, who’s probably best known for his stint on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and marrying Shannen Doherty after only knowing her for 2 weeks, has been cast as the villain known as Firepower, a pilot of an experimental power suit built by the government under the codename “Project: Firepower”.
Finally, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that the director of the first two ‘Iron Man’ films Jon Favreau would be back on set for ‘Iron Man 3’, but only in front of the camera. Favreau will reprise his role as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s trusty driver. This shows that Favreau’s relationship with Marvel Studios is still going strong, even after his decision to not direct the third installment of the franchise that really started the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
‘Iron Man 3’ began shooting on Wednesday in North Carolina. The new adventure for Tony Stark in a post-‘Avengers’ world will bring back together Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, and Gwyneth Paltrow in a story at least partially based on Warren Ellis’ ‘Extremis’ storyline. Directed by Shane Black, the first film in Marvel’s Phase 2 will be released on May 3rd, 2013.
