While we already knew Jeff Bridges was set to play a role in next summer's Iron Man, director Jon Favreau has gone out of his way to keep his character a secret; dropping subtle clues to keep fans scratching their heads. In a recent MySpace post, Favreau said Bridges was given a haircut that "would no doubt be of interest to any of you fans of the books." My first assumption was that he shaved his head, and -- guess what -- I was right! IGN caught up with Bridges (at an event promoting Sony's upcoming animated feature Surf's Up) and the man finally provided us with more info on his Iron Man role, telling the site he will play Obadiah Stane.
Currently bald and sporting a silver goatee, Bridges said Stane plays mentor to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and would not divulge whether he was also the villain. However, Iron Man fans know that Stane (who, like Stark, is a billionaire industrialist) becomes our hero's bitter rival -- drawing Stark back to the bottle -- which causes him to lose everything, including his company. Eventually, Stane creates his own suit (known as the Iron Monger) and uses it to battle Iron Man. This much we know, but there's a ton of stuff (Jim Rhodes becomes Iron Man at one point) sandwiched in the middle. Will this be the route Favreau goes in the film, or do you think he'll save some of it for a potential sequel? Regardless, if you told me last year that Jon Favreau would direct a Marvel superhero flick with Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Bridges playing hero and villain, I would have said you were nuts ... and a genius. I'm not even a big Iron Man fan, yet I cannot wait to see how this sucker plays out. You?
1. My first thought when Bridges was cast was that he'd be either Howard Stark or Obadiah Stane. Iron Man is a favorite of mine and I can't wait for this movie.
Posted at 3:20PM on Mar 9th 2007 by Scott K