Favreau: Iron Man 2 Good to Go
Director Jon Favreau says rehearsals are currently under way for Iron Man 2, with filming set to begin in three weeks. The actor-filmmaker made the announcement while doing red carpet interviews last night at the premiere of his new release I Love You, Man.

IESB points out Favreau's chat with Entertainment Tonight where the director said, "Our main cast is all lined up, everbody's deals are signed. Marvel's about to make some announcements and I think everybody is going to be happy when they hear who we got, and we're just working really hard to get this movie ready for next summer."

Favreau all but confirmed that Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson have been cast. "Well, I hear Mickey's been in Russia doing research for a role. I can confirm that. We haven't made any official announcements yet. But I will say there is a Russian villain in our film." Further confirmation comes in the form of a new photo of Rourke in a jail cell posted by Defamer, with a caption stating that "Mickey Rourke was locked up in a Moscow prison for three hours as he prepared for his role playing a Russian villain in the Iron Man sequel."

Favreau said of Johansson's possible casting as the femme fatale Black Widow, "Scarlett is somebody I've been wanting to work with for a while. She's a great actor. We've been talking for a while and we haven't announced anything yet but I'll tell you she hadn't screen tested or anything but I met with her and hopefully we'll be getting everything settled so we can make some announcements this week."