Iron Man 2: Sam Rockwell Not The Comics’ Justin Hammer

Actor Sam Rockwell was in town last week for the Tribeca Film Festival debut of his science-fiction thriller “Moon,” but given the chance to chat, we had to ask a few questions about another little film he’s working on these days — namely, “Iron Man 2.”

Originally announced way back in January, Rockwell will be playing the role of Justin Hammer, a rival industrialist attempting to bring down Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man,” Tony Stark. While the actor hasn’t been able to share many details about the much-anticipated sequel thus far, we did get an answer to one of the questions on many comic book fans’ minds: Will his character in the film be made to look like the white-haired, geriatric Justin Hammer of the comics?

“They wanted to go with a rival for Tony Stark who is closer to his age, and make him American,” Rockwell told MTV News of the new look for the Marvel villain.

However, just to make sure we were on the same page, we picked up a copy of “Iron Man” #240 before the interview to offer Rockwell a comparative look at the Justin Hammer known to comics fans.

“That looks like Jeremy Irons,” joked Rockwell of the Hammer character in the comic. “I guess they couldn’t get Jeremy Irons for it.”

Although Rockwell said his character wouldn’t be fighting or flying in the sequel (”My character is the brains, not the brawn,” he said), he did reveal that production has featured no small amount of spontaneity among the cast members.

“There’s a lot of improv,” said Rockwell of the ongoing “Iron Man 2″ filming.

Keep it locked to Splash Page for more “Iron Man 2″ news as it develops.

What do you think of the decision to change Justin Hammer’s look for the film?

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