The heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are undoubtedly the stars of the show, but the movies have built up a long line of villains in its 10 years. Truth be told, not all of them are very good, but there are some standouts amongst the lineup. One of the most underrated of those villains is Justin Hammer, who was played by Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2. Most of Iron Man 2 is pretty forgettable, but Justin Hammer is a definite highlight. For his part, Rockwell is open to coming back to the MCU. Here's what he said.
Of course! I have some great buddies in that franchise. Jeremy Renner is a good friend of mine, and I am pals with Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo. Robert [Downey Jr.] is always fun. Would love to get me and Clark [Gregg] back in that franchise. That would be a lot of fun.
It's been quite a few years since we've seen Justin Hammer. For those who need a refresher, Justin Hammer is kind of the evil version of Tony Stark, but if he didn't have a suit of armor and wasn't as smart. Hammer was the CEO of a rival tech company that was trying to build their own Iron Man suit. One attempt twisted a man in half, so Hammer broke Ivan Vanko out of prison so that he could build a fleet of suits for Hammer. It was a pretty bad idea that blew up in his face spectacularly, landing Hammer in prison where he's been to this day. The last time we saw the character was a cameo appearance in the All Hail the King one-shot about Trevor Slattery aka "Not The Mandarin" in prison.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sam Rockwell said that he was definitely interested in returning to the MCU as Justin Hammer should the offer ever come. He's got lots of friends in that franchise, and there's probably few better opportunities for actor buddies to hang out than in an MCU movie.
As for whether or not Justin Hammer will come back or not, only the top brass at Marvel know. Should he come back? I think so. Hammer is a fun villain and Rockwell is really entertaining in the role, so if there's an organic way to bring him back then I say go for it. An opportunity for that likely won't come until Phase 4 and it's still a mystery what the Iron Man franchise will look like after Avengers 4. However, the MCU is so intertwined now, Hammer doesn't have to only appear in Iron Man movies. Just as long as he's dancing, I don't care where he shows up.
We don't know if Justin Hammer will ever find his way back into the MCU but stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated. In the meantime, check out our Marvel movie release guide for all the upcoming Marvel movies.
