Getting It Right

Iron Man 2 scripter Justin Theroux tells MTV that the recent EW report about the Terrence Howard/Don Cheadle casting switch contained a few errors.

That article claimed that the over-sized paycheck and disputes with actor Howard over his role of Jim Rhodes in the first film, led to the notion that the character's role would be reduced and then ultimately recast.

Theroux says that "I can only tell you what I know which is that from a writing standpoint we didn’t do anything differently [with the character]. It’s not like we were sitting there going, we need less of this or that. We just approached the characters and the story on their own terms...Rhodes is completely present in a very strong and big way…He’s COMPLETELY present."

Will we ever know what really happened there?

Production on the sequel begins in April.

Meanwhile-Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr..tells MTV that the filmmakers are already working hard to make sure the 2011 Avengers flick doesn't stink.

"If we don’t get it right it’s really, 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".

A superhero team film is tough on 2 fronts--servicing lots of characters and the bending of those character backgrounds together for a 2 hour move. That stuff works fine in the pages of a monthly book...but..Downey understands the challenges:

"I think its important that I do what I’m supposed to do which is keep my side of the street clean. The danger you run with colliding all these worlds is [director Jon Favreau] was very certain that ‘Iron Man’ should be set in a very realistic world. 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."