After weeks of rumors about salary negotiations and conflicting schedules, both Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke have become confirmed participants in Iron Man 2. The news is coming from Deadline Hollywood, where Nikki Finke reports that Rourke finally got the real money he was asking for, while Johansson's deal-- which includes a role in the Avengers movie-- is less than spectacular.
Finke quoted a source saying "I hear that, unlike Mickey's money, the deal for her is "just the opposite, a terrible deal made by CAA. It's as bad as any deal that I've heard. It's lowball money. And it ties her to countless movies, including that ensemble The Avengers, which is what makes this brutal for a lot of actors." You may remember that Emily Blunt had initially been offered the role, and dropped out, not because she didn't want to be in The Avengers, but because Fox stole her away. Well, at least it was a convenient way to get out of being in The Avengers.
None of this has yet been confirmed by Marvel, and Finke says it'll be a while before they speak up, but she's always been a reliable source in the past. Oddly enough she also adds that Rourke was under heavy consideration to play the villain in Spider-Man 4. I think we can all congratulate him on having the good taste to stick with the fresh new superhero franchise rather than the unwanted dying gasp of a old one.
I have absolutely zero faith that Johansson can pull off a sultry spy role, or really any role that doesn't closely resemble her part in Lost in Translation. But I'm so psyched about Rourke's participation that I'm pretty willing to overlook it. Also, this means that Jon Favreau isn't building this set for nothing. Iron Man 2 is on!
