Paramount Pictures has provided us with a first look at Mickey Rourke as villain Whiplash at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix in director Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2, opening in theaters on May 7, 2010. Rourke stars with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Favreau, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Garry Shandling, John Slattery, Kate Mara and Clark Gregg in the sequel.
Whiplash sports a power pack on his chest that looks similar to the one used by Iron Man. “The technologies are definitely related, and that’s part of the core theme of the film,” says Favreau.
The character’s alter ego, Ivan Vanko, is a Russian who, Favreau says, “has constructed his own version of a suit.” Among the creative alterations: a pair of whips, powered by the suit’s glowing chest piece. Whiplash “is going to light them up,” says Rourke.
