Sam Rockwell up for Iron Man 2

Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke are negotiating for roles in Iron Man 2.

With the script still a closely guarded secret, the early details about their characters seem to shift according to which of the big trade mags are talking about it. If he locks in a deal, Rockwell may end up as one of the two big villains in the sequel - Justin Hammer, a corporate rival for Tony Stark who may or may not get his own power suit.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rourke is up for the role of a Russian arms merchant who becomes super-villain Whiplash.

Just one thing about ol’ Whippy – in most the comics, it’s a female character. Still, no one ever said a comic book film had to follow every rule, and there has been at least one male character bearing the name.

Crimson Dynamo

But Variety contends that Rourke is more likely to be playing Crimson Dynamo, who has appeared in no less than 12 versions through the years, as everything from a clone of Tony Stark’s dad, Howard, to Russian and Chinese operatives.

What’s the truth? Tough to tell yet – let’s hope Favreau and Marvel sign ‘em both and lock down the characters soon, before we all go mad trying to figure out who is who.

Meanwhile, we’ve chucked some reference images in the gallery above. Who do you want to see the pair play?

[Source: Variety / The Hollywood Reporter]