Makes you wanna do cartwheels anytime a studio takes a welcome gamble like this.

Referring of course to news that the-one-and-only Robert Downey Jr – yes, Downey Jr! Not some sloppy CW regular or fresh-faced musician cum artiste – has signed to play Tony Stark, or rather, “Iron Man”.

Whoever thought Paramount would cast someone of Downey Jr’s calibre – or type – in the role? Sure, it fits him like a glove – alcoholic billionaire that gets about in a superhero outfit after hours – but its almost unheard of. Obviously someone’s taking a page out of Chris Nolan’s “Batman” book and casting ‘actors’ before ‘faces’. Nice example to follow though – “Batman Begins” won a mint, and some major merit.

Interestingly enough, Tom Cruise was initially linked to the project – granted, this was before his transformation into couch-jumping preacher boy – so seems the film has always been circling, in some ways, a big name to headline.

But lets admit it, Cruise is a movie star, Downey Jr is an actor – and “Iron Man” will be all the more better for having Morton’s boy wearing the ensemble.

Downey Jr has made a real comeback the past coupla years. It’s funny to think that many of us assumed he had ruined himself when he went and got himself fired from TV comeback gig “Ally McBeal” – but then he bounced back a couple of years later with big roles in big films, movies like “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang”, “The Singing Detective” and “Good Night and Good Luck”.

Glad he did clean up his act though – it’ll be interesting to see him playing an alcoholic on screen though, temptation is a bitch – because we’ve now got one of today’s best actors back on our screens. There’s not many like RDJ.

Another fab actor, Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”), is believed to be in talks for the role of Jim Rhodes, the former CEO of Stark Industries, in the film. Comic book fans will know that Rhodes has an alter ego too – War Machine (and later, he takes the guise of “Iron Man”).

“Iron Man” starts filming in January, under the guidance of Jon Favreau – who, by the way, has a new baby; congrats mate! – and the Paramount troops.

The pic, based on the classic Marvel comic book of the same name, fixes on a troubled billionaire who creates a life support suit to assist him after a life threatening accident and ultimately decides to use its technology to fight evil and crime.

Chill Vault > Chill Zone > Tv and Movie Mania

I was gonna go WOAH LOBO U HARDCORE

Director Jon Favreau is said to be chatting to his good friend (and “Made” and “Love & Sex” co-star) Famke Janssen about co-starring in his “Iron Man” movie.

According to CanMag.com, Favreau wants Janssen (well known for her role in another comic-to-film series, “X-Men”) to play the love interest of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark.

“Last we heard, Tony Stark's love interest in the film was going to be the character Bethany Cabe”, says a scooper for the site. “Cabe meets Stark at a convention in New York City and their relationship quickly becomes romantic. Cabe would later help Stark beat his alcoholism. Though she doesn't know it at first, Cabe figures out that Iron Man is not only Stark's bodyguard, but Stark himself.”

Made a couple of calls about this today, and nobody’s talking…. So no confirmation, but no flat-out denials either. Considering Janssen's friendship with Favreau, and the fact that she's worked with Avi Arad and Marvel on the "X-Men" series, it's a possibility.

As first reported by Ain't It Cool News about a month ago, Terrence Howard has signed on to star in Jon Favreau's upcoming adaptation of IRON MAN. Howard would star in the film as Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, the sidekick to Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark and lead developer of the Iron Man suit. In a plotline that would be saved for a sequel, Rhodes eventually dons a suit of his own, becomes War Machine and does battle with Stark. The film's main villian this time around will be Mandarin (any casting ideas?). Speaking of casting, two roles cast and two Oscar nominees - not half bad. I'm loving what Favreau is doing so far. Marvel will fully finance IRON MAN with Paramount releasing on May 2, 2008. Shooting begins on IRON MAN next February in Los Angeles and you can bet JoBlo.com will bring you the latest and greatest as it happens.

"The suit for 'Iron Man' is so complex and does so much stuff that except for once or twice or from the chest up, I'm not required to do all that much," Downey Jr. told us when asked if he'd been fitted for the armor yet. "What I will do is a lot of motion capture so that the movement isn't just some random stunt guy. A lot of time I look at CGI and I'm like 'What's the reference for this? This looks like a cartoon reference not a person." So I said I want to do all the motion capture work, which is like eight months after finishing shooting, but as much as it as I can do, I will."

"I went after it like a greyhound after a rabbit," he said when asked whether Favreau approached him or whether he went after the part. "I loved Marvel and 'Iron Man' to me is the goods. To tell you the God's honest truth, I'd thrown them all away for Sgt. Rock, because I really grew up on Hogan's Heroes, Sgt. Rock. I'm still addicted to the History Channel and the Military Channel is my thing, but Tony's the best because I could never be Sgt. Rock. He's a little bigger and more butch and has a cigar, I don't see it. Tony's a perfect fit for me, and if I was ever going to do this type of thing, I thought, you know, like early '40's. Great, because when you hang up your 'macho hat' and start directing or doing other stuff, it's not an embarrassment to be doing this in your late '40s still if we wind up doing three of them."

He also said that there would be some major casting announcements soon including Tony Stark's secretary Pepper Potts and one other, but he couldn't let the cat out of the bag despite being excited about the chance to work with the actors.

Iron Man is scheduled for May 2, 2008.

Marvel Studios continues to build a golden foundation for its big screen adaptation of Iron Man as it announced today that Jeff Bridges will join the cast of the highly-anticipated summer 2008 event film. Bridges marks the fourth Academy-Award recognized actor signed on to the project, starring alongside Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Oscar® nominee Terrence Howard as Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes and Oscar® winner Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts. Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man is scheduled to blast into theaters May 2, 2008.

Few specifics of Bridges' role were released. He will portray a close business associate of Tony Stark. A confidant and longtime employee at defense contractor Stark Industries, Bridges' character plays a major role in shaping Tony Stark's life.

"We are thrilled to have Jeff Bridges on board 'Iron Man' in this pivotal role. His depth of talent and unique persona make him a perfect addition to this project, truly rounding out the ensemble," said Kevin Feige, President of Production, Marvel Studios. "His character is central to the entire storyline of the film and we could not have asked for a better choice than Jeff to bring this role to life."

Jeff Bridges has appeared in more than 50 movies during his illustrious career to date, and has garnered numerous accolades. Bridges has received four Academy Award® nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Starman and Supporting Actor recognition for The Contender, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and The Last Picture Show. Among his other memorable film credits are: The Big Lebowski, Seabiscuit, The Fisher King, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Jagged Edge and Against All Odds. In 2007, he will be seen in A Dog Year and provide his vocal talents to the animated film Surf's Up.

Filming on Iron Man is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in March 2007. The film will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Iron Man will be produced by Avi Arad and Kevin Feige. Executive Producers are Ari Arad, Peter Billingsley, Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau and Michael Helfant. Bridges is represented by Creative Artists Agency.

Entertainment Weekly has revealed the Mark III costume from director Jon Favreau's Iron Man designed by Oscar-winning F/X guru Stan Winston.

Opening May 2, 2008, the comic book adaptation stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb and Bill Smitrovich.

"This is a decidedly adult superhero story," Favreau told the magazine. "Robert was very bullish on wearing the suit whenever possible. "Now I don't know if he's such a fan of that idea."