Iron Man 2

 is the planned sequel to 2008's Iron Man. Marvel formally announced the sequel on May 5, 2008, following Iron Man's successful opening weekend. The film's opening is scheduled for May 7, 2010.

Robert Downey Jr. says that he's looking forward to seeing what happens to Tony Stark in the sequel:

"If you ask me, the next one is about what do you do with the rest of your life now that you're completely changed? And you are in touch, and you have created this thing that has the power to take life. Essentially, you have been made into a god. A human being, metaphorically, who's been made into a god is not going to turn out so well. And their conscience is going to come to bear."

Director Jon Favreau is looking forward to the sequel too:

"I would love to keep directing these... Really, the sky is the limit. I think you've got to outdo yourself. I gotta think you've got to go bigger, you've got to go better. You don't have the simple sense of discovery of the first one in the sequels, but I'm told the second chapter of these franchises is always the most fun, because you can just play in the sandbox and bring more toys in."

Favreau says that he'd like to the character's development in the movie series to mirror the comic books, citing the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline as an inspiration:

"I think what needs to be explored next... is how the weight of being a public superhero is going to affect Tony Stark's personality and start to expand on the hairline fractures in his personality and his spirit. By the way, once you have the audience, you have a lot of freedom to go further tonally. But when you launch a franchise, if you notice, they always play it much closer to the vest with these superhero films until the parents and the audiences make up their minds that they like them."

Synopsis
The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored superhero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James "Rhody” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces.

Cast

 * Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
 * Don Cheadle as James Rhodes / War Machine
 * Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash
 * Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
 * Paul Bettany as the Voice of J.A.R.V.I.S.
 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
 * Garry Shandling as Senator Stern
 * Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
 * Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart
 * Kate Mara as US Marshall
 * Olivia Munn as Janet Van Dyne / The Wasp
 * John Slattery as Howard Stark

Production
Director Jon Favreau is posting production notes to his twitter account.

The film will be shot in Raleigh Studios. Rehearsals began in March 2009.

Filming began on 6th April, 2009.

Trivia

 * Al Pacino was considered for the role of Justin Hammer.


 * Fann Wong, Ziyi Zhang, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone were considered for the role of Rumiko Fujikawa.


 * Robert Downey Jr. recommended that an Iron Man suit be designed that would fit into a suitcase, like in the comics and "Iron Man" (1994).


 * Writer Shane Black recommended that Tony Stark's characterization be inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist who had worked on the atomic bomb but after witnessing his creation's destructive potential defamed himself as "the Destroyer of Worlds" and sank into depression.


 * According to director Jon Favreau, the Mandarin in this film allows for "incorporating the whole pantheon of villains". The main influences on the Mandarin's characterization were J.R.R. Tolkien's Dark Lord Sauron; Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and The Godfather: Part II (1974)'s Michael Corleone.


 * Renowned animator Genndy Tartakovsky was hired to storyboard the film's action sequences.


 * Emily Blunt was set to star as Black Widow but had to pull out due scheduling conflicts with her movie Gulliver's Travels (2010).


 * Robert Downey Jr. recommended screenwriter Justin Theroux, who did Downey's Tropic Thunder (2008), to Jon Favreau to write the film's script.


 * To prepare for his role as Whiplash, Mickey Rourke paid a visit to Butyrka Prison, Moscow.


 * The character of Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) is a combination of Iron Man's enemies Whiplash (who possesses a specially-designed razor/acid whip) and the Crimson Dynamo (who wears armor that can control electricity).


 * Samuel L. Jackson was promised that Nick Fury would be given more screen time by director Jon Favreau. Jackson almost didn't return to play Fury, due to problems with contract negotiations, but secured a landmark nine-picture deal to play Nick Fury not only in this film but in many other Marvel Studio productions.

Jon Favreau's first sequel as a director and as an actor.