News and Rumors:

December 15, 2004: 'Teh_AnDrOiD' sent in this "new" Iron Man pic (on the right) that appears to be promoting a "Holiday 2005" release for the movie. The image is not the best quality but you can clearly read the message on the bottom. The image looks real enough, but its uncertain what exactly its promoting. For all we know, it could be for a new monthly comic book series. Who knows! Do you? Click the image to the left for a larger view or click here.

November 30, 2004: IGN Filmforce has confirmed that New Line Cinema and Marvel Studios have signed Nick Cassavetes ("The Notebook") to direct Iron Man for a Summer 2006 release. Although Cassavetes is currently shooting "Alpha Dog," Marvel and New Line plan to begin casting immediately. Based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, Iron Man is the story of Tony Stark, a driven inventor and executive who straps on billions of dollars in armor and weaponry each night to fight crime, terrorism and corporate espionage. The project is based on a script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and David Hayter. Thanks to 'Slippy Tin' for the heads up!

November 3, 2004: More from the IGN FilmForce report (see November 1 news): "They further mention that Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes will be making an appearance possibly working for Stark as he did in the comic as Stark's personal pilot and chief aviation engineer. Rhodes eventually became Iron Man when Tony's drinking problem took him to one too many hookers in Tijuana. Rhodes also put on a metallic suit of his own and eventually became War Machine. Finally, who's panties will Iron Man be attempting to get into? Seems that gal is Bethany Cabe, Stark's security advisor and personal bodyguard." Thanks to 'JoBlo.com' for the heads up!

November 1, 2004: A news report from IGN FilmForce: "IGNFF has learned that, although he was in earlier drafts of the screenplay, the villain will not be The Mandarin, who is the Armored Avenger's arch-enemy in the Marvel comic. Instead, the nemesis in the film will be Howard Stark, the military industrialist father of title character Tony Stark." Thanks to 'IGN FilmForce' for the news!

October 28, 2004: According to IESB, a scooper who has been working as an extra on the Fantastic Four set claims that Rob Lowe's name has been mentioned when Iron Man is being discussed. "Did you know that they're doing IRON MAN next? Same producer. He's been talking about it in heaps. We overheard Rob Lowe's name a couple of times. He might be under consideration. Not much of a star though? One of the producers, Kevin, has been coming and going from the set because of meetings on it [Iron Man] with the studio". Tony Stark is supposed to be a jet setting millionare playboy, Rob Lowe could easily play that part. No official announcements are expected for a while but it has been reported that Iron Man is slated to start production in 2005." Thanks to 'Darkhorizons' for the heads up.

October 22, 2004: IGN FilmForce has learned that screenwriter David Hayter's latest draft of "Iron Man" has won over New Line Cinema and the studio is immediately going out with it to directors who can get the film up and running by early 2005. Sources have advised them that this draft of Iron Man is very Tom Clancy-esque in tone and involves the conflict between Tony Stark and his father Howard over Stark Industries. The Armored Avenger's origin has been updated from the Vietnam back story used in the comics. With previously mentioned potential actors like Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage all busy on other projects, New Line has several other movie stars in mind. Thanks to 'DarkHorizons' for the heads up!

June 25, 2004: DarkHorizon's scooper sent in an e-mail which brought up a new possibile star for the film - Simon Rex. The former MTV VJ and star of such films as "Scary Movie 3", "The Forsaken" and TV's "Felicity" is currently starring in "The Karate Dog" alongside Jon Voight and Chevy Chase. Here's the specifics: "Rex is meeting with Marvel for "Iron Man" this month. He's been in talks for quite a spell. Reportedly Rex has the look, physique and chops that they want for the role. They seem to keep coming back to him apparently, so don't be surprised if he gets the nod". We'll keep you posted.

April 23, 2004: David Hayter, whose credits include comic book films "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," has signed on to rewrite "Iron Man," New Line Cinema's adaptation of the Marvel Comics character. In the comic, Iron Man's real identity is that of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, who develops an armored suit that lets him fly and shoot repulsor rays. The comic debuted in the 1960s, and Iron Man's origin involved Stark being a prisoner of the Viet Cong. The comic evolved into Stark fighting spies, both political and industrial, while also battling alcoholism. Sources say the movie, which is being eyed as a franchise by the studio, will reflect a modern world climate, as well as modern technological, political and societal trends. Thanks to 'the punisher' via email for the heads up!

January 19, 2004: Kevin Feige on Iron Man: "Smallville creators/executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar have turned in a second draft for the Iron Man movie, which is shaping up as a possible 2005 release. "It's an awesome draft," Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige told The Continuum. "There should be a director soon."

Feige said that he's read the recent reports indicating that Tom Cruise is still interested in playing the title role. "There have been discussions over the last several years and there are a number of factors involved," Feige said. "All we know is that we're putting all the pieces in place and then we'll find the best Tony Stark that we can get." Thanks to Comic Continuum.

January 5, 2004: Ok, so maybe the "Tom Cruise as Iron Man" rumor isn't so wild and out there. It could be true. Robert, via email, sends in this story posted back in May from a UK Magazine:
"You can’t turn around at the moment without tripping over a Marvel superhero on the big screen, and next up for the Hollywood treatment is Iron Man, which has so far attracted more interesting casting rumours than any other superhero property in town. When the project was first mooted, long term comic fan Nicholas Cage and Tom Cruise both expressed interest – the kind of star wattage more normally associated with literary adaptations than men in tights. Much has changed since, including the screenwriters, the script and the principal villain, but it seems that Cruise remains keen. In this month’s Empire, he reveals that he is still working on a deal to don the Iron Man’s armour. “He’s a fascinating character, but we’ve got to figure out how it’s going to work. And everyone is doing a Marvel character these days. How do we make that new, create something fresh where it doesn’t feel like, ‘Oh, here comes another superhero story’?” Iron Man, for those not up to speed, is billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, who must wear an armoured breastplate to protect his injured heart. In between running a company and dealing with alcoholism, he fights bad guys with the aid of an incredibly advanced suit of armour and a disturbingly large array of weaponry." We'll keep you updated on this of course.

November 14, 2003: "We've been advised by reliable sources that Shellhead's big-screen debut is still in the scripting stage with writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough now at work on a second draft. Filming on the New Line project is expected to begin sometime in the New Year." Thanks to IGN FIlmForce for the update!

November 4, 2003: At a recent Marvel Conference Call, Avi Arad mentioned that Iron Man is targeted to be a PG-13 release and on target for a ’05 release. No change there.

October 2, 2003: Marvel Studios Producer Kevin Feige states in the most recent issue of Wizard Magazine that the latest draft of 'Iron Man' may remind viewers of some old favorites. "It's very promising", says Feige of the Al Gough/Miles Millar penned script. "This will be more like a Tom Clancy or James Bond movie than anything we've done." Thanks to CountingDown.

July 19, 2003: I've been getting a ton of emails about the Iron Man helmet picture posted on June 20th. I would like to clear everthing up. The helmet is not a prop from the movie. It is, in fact, one of the sculptures designed by Alex Ross and Mike Hill. For more of their designs click here. Just wanted to clear that up.

July 15, 2003: Miles Millar, who with partner Alfred Gough is writing the script for a proposed Iron Man movie, told SCI FI Wire that he expects to deliver a completed screenplay by September. "We're about halfway through the script," Millar said in an interview. "We spent, I guess, seven months developing the story. So we're happy. ... It's faithful [to the Marvel Comics series], but it's also very different from the original. And it's updated."

Millar and Gough—who also executive produce The WB's Superman series, Smallville—said that it was a challenge finding a way to update the story beyond simply that of a man in an iron suit. "That was our initial challenge," Millar said. "When we found a solution to that, we realized we could write the movie. Before that, we were skeptical. We played with the notion. But I think we found a really cool way, actually, to reinvent the suit, make it very high-tech, make it very cool visually. And yeah, we're really happy." Thanks to CBR News.

June 20, 2003: Could this be the helmet used for the upcoming movie?? Judge for yourselves, I thought it looked cool, so I posted it on here. Thanks to MarvelComicsFan:2021 for sending in the pic:

June 3, 2003: Thanks to IGN FilmForce: The June issue of Cinescape has an exclusive interview with Iron Man producers Don Murphy and Avi Arad, as well as screenwriters Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. Several new bits of information were revealed in the article.

"In Iron Man, he's putting on a suit of armor that protects his heart – I totally get it," says Murphy. "To me it's always about, 'Can I see it as a movie?' So Iron Man works for me because of that very reason. He's not going to be Superman turning back the world. It's believable stuff." Writer Gough concurs, adding that "the intriguing thing to us [Gough & Millar] was (Iron Man's alter-ego Tony Stark) has an alcohol problem and he needs the suit to stay alive." Millar finds Iron Man to be "a very unique character in terms of he's not a teenager struggling with a superpower. ... he's like the Howard Hughes of superheroes."

Gough believes that Iron Man is "a very relevant sort of thing to be doing somebody who's basically a weapons manufacturer in this world situation we're in. And also, it's global. It's not a guy protecting one city; it has a James Bond-meets-Tom Clancy feel. That's our approach." The interview's biggest revelation was provided by executive producer Avi Arad. "Iron Man is about a kid whose father was bigger-than-life and he felt like, 'What's in it for me?'" explains Arad. "Then he loses his parents and never got to say a kind word to [his father] like, 'Dad, I admire you and I love you and I didn't mean to be an [expletive]."

The New Line-based feature adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero is currently in development for a 2005 release.

May 7, 2003: Alfred Gough recently sat down for an interview and had this to say: "Iron Man's coming along well. We're sort of knee deep in that. Now that we have the hiatus, Miles [Millar] and I pushing forward on that. New Line is excited and Marvel is excited. And we're very excited to be writing that. Tony Stark is a great character and, certainly given the world events as they are, Iron Man is also a very relevant character as well."

February 21, 2003: A news report from both IGN Filmforce and Aint it Cool News suggests that Leo Decaprio is the leading candiate for the title role in Iron Man. Dicaprio has NOT been offered the role, yet. He is simply on top of the producer's wish list.

February 13, 2003: Variety reports that New Line has set a Summer 2005 release for the comic adaptation being penned by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar ("Smallville").

February 10, 2003: Marvel Comics head Avi Arad was quoted as saying, "I would love to have him [Tom Crusie] for 'Iron Man.' If he wanted it, he could definitely be my Tony Stark".

January 21, 2003: A report from CountingDown: In a recent recap of upcoming projects for New Line Cinema, the currently in-limbo 'Iron Man' film was mentioned as being "on deck" for the studio. The article also described New Line's vision of the Marvel Comics character as "part superhero, part James Bond-style spy." Hopefully New Line is already in the process of getting a replacement for formerly attatched director Joss Whedon, if not Whedon himself now that his series Firefly seems to have been cancelled and Buffy seems to be coming to a close.

November 27, 2002: Well, Joss Whedon has left the Iron Man project -- He decided he should spend time on properties he creates, and opted to do 'FireFly'. As a result the project is dead for now.

June 28, 2002: Screenwriter Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") has been tapped to pen the script from which he may also direct. Nicholas Cage and Bruce Campbell are said to have interest in playing Iron Man.