While I love the original comic book series to death, one of the best things about Iron Man is how they treated Jarvis. For those that don't know, in the original series Jarvis is actually Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark's butler - the Alfred Pennyworth to his Batman you might say. While the idea wasn't completely original (Jarvis was the computer inside the suit for the House of M series), it was a change for the better and eliminated possible Alfred Pennyworth comparisons (see above). While the sequel has now moved into post-production however, Paul Bettany, who provided Jarvis' voice, has yet to hear the phone ring.
In an interview with IGN, Bettany revealed how he originally got the part ("Wanna be in Iron Man?" "Fuck Yeah") but has said that he has not yet heard from director John Favreau about coming back for the sequel, sometimes even forgetting that he was even in the first installment.
Fortunately for us, the reason why his work on the film was so forgettable is because it only took him about an hour to record his part for the film. This means that his part can probably be done at any time and just thrown into the mix before it needs to go into the can. To be frank, it would be disappointing if Bettany and Jarvis were cut from the film, as the role was funny and provided Robert Downey Jr. with a nice sounding board. And honestly, who doesn't love the British wit?
