After much speculation, it has finally been confirmed that "The Wrestler" star Mickey Rourke will be joining the cast of "Iron Man 2".
The bone of contention for Rourke and his agent was the fact that Marvel was only willing to pay the star a fraction of his going rate to play Russian supervillian, Whiplash, in the highly anticipated blockbuster sequel.
However, now that Rourke has managed to negotiate a substantially higher fee, the deal has been sealed.
The Oscar-nominated actor joins the star-studded cast which comprises of Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L Jackson.
The only blow to the show is that Emily Blunt will not be able to take on the role as Russian femme fatale Black Widow due to her contractual obligation to star in "Gulliver’s Travels", an adaptation of the classic tale.
Replacing her is Scarlett Johansson who is "thrilled" to be part of the movie.
"Iron Man 2" which is set to be released in May 2010, starts shooting in April.
