Is it just us, or is Iron Man director Jon Favreau quietly putting together the best cast yet seen in a comic book movie?
Obviously, he’s got tough competition – Batman Begins had a mouthwatering ensemble, as did the X-movies, while Ang Lee’s Hulk had one heck of a heavyweight cast.
So far, though, Iron Man is shaping up pretty nicely, with the Oscar-nominated Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, the Oscar-winning Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, the Oscar-nominated Terrence Howard as Shellhead’s best pal, Jim Rhodes. And now, to further up the ante, the Oscar-nominated The Dude himself has signed on.
Yes, Jeff Bridges – one of the finest actors around – has become the fourth major player to be wooed by Favs and the appeal of Marvel’s first independently financed/produced movie.
The name of Bridges’ character hasn’t yet been revealed, but given the description – “a confidant and close business associate of Stark… who plays a major role in shaping Stark's life” – we’d be shocked if he wasn’t playing Obadiah Stane, a character who fits that bill and then some and who may, or may not, turn out to be villainous.
“There are many facets to this character which I can't discuss,” says Marvel’s Kevin Feige, which would appear to confirm our suspicions, “but looking at the spectrum of all of Jeff's roles, this fits in nicely with the man who played 'Starman,' 'Tucker,' 'Big Lebowski' with a little bit 'Tron' thrown in.
"This rounds out our ensemble, and I think it's one of the strongest casts ever assembled for one of our films," Feige added.
Which is interesting. Is Bridges truly the last major cast member to be added? What, then, has become of The Mandarin, the Oriental supervillain who is Iron Man’s traditional nemesis? Empire last spoke to Favreau about Iron Man back in November, and he seemed quite keen to fit the Mandarin in there somewhere… so is there one more casting announcement to come, or will Bridges be the sole thorn in our hero's metallic side? Watch this space, and we’ll try to find out…