I would prefer if the Sorcerer Supreme guards the reality stone. Especially considering all of their threats and shit are based upon other dimensions. This would work well with Earth important because of it's place in the center of the Nine realms. Two separate things that cause Earth to attract attention: reality stone and Asgard willingly selecting it, which would allow us to do a lot without making it too important.
So that would make the reality stone the stone originally on earth.
As for the dark elves, could be that Asgard worked with the ancient Sorcerers.
This also frees up the time stone to be used in more interesting ways. Perhaps the Kree super intelligence uses the time stone as part of its predictive algorithm? Then from that it learns of the other stones, not of their existence, but of the fact that they will all be used in known times and places very soon. So the Kree super intelligence hatches a plan to get the rest of them.
This way, we don't have to use Thanos a 4th time (Infinity War, Endgame, Feige quest before)
Edit:
Maybe there could be an epic confrontation between Vision and the Super Intelligence as the finale to his character arc.
I mean if the Sorceror Supreme guards the Reality Stone wouldn't it make the most sense to have the reality stone be from the Dark Dimension? Like some past Sorceror Supreme (probably the Ancient One) swindled it from Dormammu or Umar Shuma Gorath and is now hiding it on earth? Having the stone not initially be on Earth but instead brought from somewhere else is something I'd prefer and it works more or less with the idea of "the Sorcerer Supreme guards the Reality Stone". I think this general idea could work but it's best to try and have the reality stone tie at least initially to whatever the Sorceror Supreme deals with if we want to make that part of the job description. I'm all for it conceptually even if I think it's a long ways off.
As for the Dark Elves I'd rather not use them in the same capacity as IRL if at all. Like why would we want to redo one of the weaker parts of the actual MCU? Having the Dark Elves be their own thing unrelated to the Reality Stone so that we can do something interesting with them seems better to me. Like just have the Dark Elves be old enemies of Asgard like the Frost Giants, no need to make them super significant unless you think Malekith is a really compelling antagonist (I don't).
I don't have an issue with having the Kree Supreme intelligence play a role in the overarching narrative but I think that the use of the Infinity Stones necessitates the use of Thanos as a big bad. They're kind of his whole thing you know? It's like if we had Vibranium and no Wakanda or an Iron Man suit but no Tony Stark, you can do it but it's kind of weird and fans would be wondering where it is. There's a lot we could do differently and maybe even pull a twist somewhere along the line (have Thane or Mephisto usurp Thanos' position as the big bad at some point) but I feel like if we use the stones we've got to use Thanos in some capacity as well. Not the same capacity as in anything before necessarily but in at least some capacity.
I don't have an issue with having the Kree Supreme intelligence play a role in the overarching narrative but I think that the use of the Infinity Stones necessitates the use of Thanos as a big bad. They're kind of his whole thing you know? It's like if we had Vibranium and no Wakanda or an Iron Man suit but no Tony Stark, you can do it but it's kind of weird and fans would be wondering where it is. There's a lot we could do differently and maybe even pull a twist somewhere along the line (have Thane or Mephisto usurp Thanos' position as the big bad at some point) but I feel like if we use the stones we've got to use Thanos in some capacity as well. Not the same capacity as in anything before necessarily but in at least some capacity.
Maybe we could go with Thanos as more of a philosopher angle? Perhaps he's been meditating with the Soul stone for years to guide dead souls to the afterlife or something. The Kree poking him in their attempt to get the Soul stone for their collection could be what awakes him and causes him to join the Game of Stones.
Thanos then uses the soul stone to communicate with enemies of the Kree, perhaps whoever has the space stone at the moment, and they portal him out of there. That could be how the heroes learn of the Kree super intelligence's threat and goal.
Maybe we could go with Thanos as more of a philosopher angle? Perhaps he's been meditating with the Soul stone for years to guide dead souls to the afterlife or something. The Kree poking him in their attempt to get the Soul stone for their collection could be what awakes him and causes him to join the Game of Stones.
Thanos then uses the soul stone to communicate with enemies of the Kree, perhaps whoever has the space stone at the moment, and they portal him out of there. That could be how the heroes learn of the Kree super intelligence's threat and goal.
This kind of runs into "the Loki but he's not an antagonist at all" problem. People haven't really seen Thanos at all and up until this point he's kind of consistently been a genocidal loon in the comics for a few decades so having him just not be any of that doesn't really work. That being said I think there is a tweak that could work.
Have the Kree and the Skrulls and their conflict be the driving force for most of the first big narrative arc of the cinematic universe. One of them gets to be the big bad of an Avengers film that's built up a lot like how Thanos was IRL and the heroes learn of their existence independent of Thanos.
When whatever big bad we choose comes to collect the soul stone they encounter Thanos (potentially on Titan). Thanos isn't a good person per se but he's there mostly to ruminate on and think about death. Whatever entity is the big bad takes the soul stone from Thanos and this convinces Thanos that he needs to get off his ass wipe out a certain amount of life with the infinity gauntlet. Thanos only then becomes the big bad and steps into the spotlight as a sort of stinger to the movie.
Like if the Supreme Intelligence or the Super Skrull or whoever is the overarching big bad for phases like 1-3, we set it up so that their actions set in motion having Thanos as the big bad for phases 4-6 or something like that. I think that's the best way to do it. Keep Thanos in the back for much longer and let the smaller alien threats take center stage as overarching antagonists and only have Thanos step in once those characters have been shuffled off the stage.
This kind of runs into "the Loki but he's not an antagonist at all" problem. People haven't really seen Thanos at all and up until this point he's kind of consistently been a genocidal loon in the comics for a few decades so having him just not be any of that doesn't really work. That being said I think there is a tweak that could work.
Have the Kree and the Skrulls and their conflict be the driving force for most of the first narrative arc of the cinematic universe. One of them gets to be the big bad of an Avengers film that's built up a lot like how Thanos was IRL and the heroes learn of their existence independent of Thanos.
When whatever big bad we choose comes to collect the soul stone they encounter Thanos (potentially on Titan). Thanos isn't a good person per se but he's there mostly to ruminate on and think about death. Whatever entity is the big bad takes the soul stone from Thanos and this convinces Thanos that he needs to get off his ass wipe out a certain amount of life with the infinity gauntlet. Thanos only then becomes the big bad and steps into the spotlight.
Edit: Like if the Supreme Intelligence or the Super Skrull or whoever is the overarching big bad for phases like 1-3, we set it up so that their actions set in motion having Thanos as the big bad for phases 4-6 or something like that.
I'm fine with Thanos being a genocidal maniac as long as the focus is on The Kree super intelligence as the final & overarching villain of the first saga.
Just because Thanos has a genocidal goal doesn't mean that he succeeds in getting the stones himself. He could be heavily involved in events (attacking both sides for their stones, perhaps) but in the end, the Kree or Anti-Kree factions are the ones to get the stones.
I'm up for the idea of not going with using Thanos or the Infinity Stones at all here, at least perhaps not for a long while. There's plenty of other interesting storylines that could be done like Secret Wars and such that wouldn't be re-treading the same ground as IRL.
I'm fine with Thanos being a genocidal maniac as long as the focus is on The Kree super intelligence as the final & overarching villain of the first saga.
Just because Thanos has a genocidal goal doesn't mean that he succeeds in getting the stones himself. He could be heavily involved in events (attacking both sides for their stones, perhaps) but in the end, the Kree or Anti-Kree factions are the ones to get the stones.
Again we're running into the problem of history and perception being against this kind of story. Having all of the stones be assembled into a gauntlet of some kind and granting an entity near infinite power feels really weird when it's narratively given to an entity that's never had any connection with that stuff in the comics. It doesn't really work and I don't think it's a particularly interesting storyline in and of itself (it's basically a Thanos story but you have not!Thanos as the antagonist).
If you want to have the Kree Supreme Intelligence be the big bad of the first arc of the Avenger's I think we're better off just not using infinity stones.
I'm up for the idea of not going with using Thanos or the Infinity Stones at all here, at least perhaps not for a long while. There's plenty of other interesting storylines that could be done like Secret Wars and such that wouldn't be re-treading the same ground as IRL.
I don't know Secret Wars kind of doesn't really work for an overarching narrative (it has a cosmically powerful entity pull characters out of existing narrative arc and into a short conflict with one another to prove a point. It doesn't really work as a long form narrative in my opinion). We're probably better off finding a different comic book arc to adapt.
I agree with your general idea that there are other storylines to use and that we might be better off ignoring Thanos and the infinity stones altogether but I think we have to commit to either having Thanos and the infinity stone or not having both Thanos and the infinity stones instead of trying to keep one without the other. If people want infinity stones then you kind of need to get Thanos involved. If people don't want Thanos involved then it's best to axe infinity stones and not get them involved in the movies. We need to commit narratively one way or the other.
Edit: I'd be down to have the overarching big bad of the narrative be like Adam Warlock or Shuma-Gorath or Dormammu or Annihilus or the High Evolutionary or the Grandmasteer we just need to commit to making them the relevant overarching threat and not unnecessarily bleed Thanos into them.
I agree with your general idea that there are other storylines to use and that we might be better off ignoring Thanos and the infinity stones altogether but I think we have to commit to either having Thanos and the infinity stone or not having both Thanos and the infinity stones instead of trying to keep one without the other. If people want infinity stones then you kind of need to get Thanos involved. If people don't want Thanos involved then it's best to axe infinity stones and not get them involved in the movies. We need to commit narratively one way or the other.
I mean we could still use some stones, just a few of them in a very sparse way, and have Thanos be a very far away thing, like phase 6+ or second saga or something.
One phase per stone, then Thanos unites them. Could be a way to both do more interesting plots, avoid retreading Thanos ground, and fulfill the weird restriction of "Must have both or none". (Although I would prefer to just nix that restriction)
I mean we could still use some stones, just a few of them in a very sparse way, and have Thanos be a very far away thing, like phase 6+ or second saga or something.
One phase per stone, then Thanos unites them. Could be a way to both do more interesting plots, avoid retreading Thanos ground, and fulfill the weird restriction of "Must have both or none". (Although I would prefer to just nix that restriction)
We could use some stones in a very sparse way and have Thanos be a far off thing for like phase 6+ that does work yes. But then we're inherently building a story set to last and end 6+ phases as opposed to just three or so. It's not impossible and it's something we could do (I suggested something similar with having either the Skrull or Kree as the villains of phase 1-3 and Thanos take over after that). That being said it would run into problems of actors wanting out so we can't bookend as effectively (but that's not the biggest issue).
As for the "weird restriction" it's a way to keep character's distinct and at least somewhat faithful to the source material. I'm not saying we have to do everything exactly like the comics or that we can't do our own original stuff but because we're doing an adaption of stuff we ought to at least somewhat stay within the lines on how things are portrayed and developed. Thanos and the infinity stones are incredibly tightly linked to each other that doing one without the other is a disservice.
For a metaphorical comparison, if we introduce Captain America we need to give him his shield. We can have him lose the shield or gain a new shield or pick up some different weapon later but we need to give him that iconic part of his character. Furthermore we probably shouldn't have a character use Cap's shield and then only later give it to Cap or have some other character take Cap's shield and only they use it or include the shield and never show Captain America. I would argue that all of the infinity stones plus the gauntlet are as integral and iconic to who Thanos is as Cap's shield is to Captain America or Mjolnir is to Thor. As such the reason why I have the "both or neither restriction" is to basically prevent us from trying to do the equivalent of writing a Cap story without his shield when the broader audience doesn't know about his shield.
I have no problem with doing things differently but I'm approaching this with the fundamental idea that we're doing an adaptation of an existing franchise which means we've got constraints and expectations inherent with everything we bring in and introduce. We've got to pick and choose which of those are worth trying to break and which aren't and for me being different from anything and everything that came before is not a good enough reason to include a storybeat in what is fundamentally an adaptation.
We could use some stones in a very sparse way and have Thanos be a far off thing for like phase 6+ that does work yes. But then we're inherently building a story set to last and end 6+ phases as opposed to just three or so. It's not impossible and it's something we could do (I suggested something similar with having either the Skrull or Kree as the villains of phase 1-3 and Thanos take over after that). That being said it would run into problems of actors wanting out so we can't bookend as effectively (but that's not the biggest issue).
I'm fine with committing to that vision. I've got no real issues with it but it does come with it's own set of restrictions if we choose to go this route. I think it would be cool but there are associated costs with doing it (just like with every option we choose).
Edit: If we agree to do it this way then let's focus on making this specific narrative and it's overall structure as strong as we can instead of trying to cram in too much at once.
I'm fine with committing to that vision. I've got no real issues with it but it does come with it's own set of restrictions if we choose to go this route. I think it would be cool but there are associated costs with doing it (just like with every option we choose).
Plus a lot of people IRL kind of tuned out of MCU after the Infinity Saga so I would rather keep building towards it in the background / longer term way so we can do it phase 6.
If people don't want to play their character that long we also have descendent characters and so on. Plenty of ways to pass off torches if our golden tongue can't do it by itself.
Plus a lot of people IRL kind of tuned out of MCU after the Infinity Saga so I would rather keep building towards it in the background / longer term way so we can do it phase 6.
If people don't want to play their character that long we also have descendent characters and so on. Plenty of ways to pass off torches if our golden tongue can't do it by itself.
I mean I think a big part of why people tuned out of the MCU after the Infinity Saga was a drought of movies (there's a two year gap between Black Widow and Spiderman: Far from Home) and the tv shows were never as big as the movies and covid happening. I don't think it's anything to do with commitment to an arc necessarily or at the very least outside forces compounded the problem.
I do agree with you that building for longer is interesting and would be a lot of fun and at least somewhat makes sense and that there are ways to try to minimize some of the costs (I do think we lose something if we don't have an "I am Iron Man" moment at the end of the saga but it's not something I think is necessary for example).
Again it's just if we're building this up, we need to commit to building this up and not splitting the major overarching antagonistic force too many ways and keep each overarching villain focused and with a distinct identity that doesn't bleed into those who come before or after.
I mean I think a big part of why people tuned out of the MCU after the Infinity Saga was a drought of movies (there's a two year gap between Black Widow and Spiderman: Far from Home) and the tv shows were never as big as the movies and covid happening. I don't think it's anything to do with commitment to an arc.
I do agree with you that building for longer is interesting and would be a lot of fun and at least somewhat makes sense and that there are ways to try to minimize some of the costs (I do think we lose something if we don't have an "I am Iron Man" moment at the end of the saga but it's not something I think is necessary for example).
Again it's just if we're building this up, we need to commit to building this up and not splitting the major overarching antagonistic force too many ways and keep each overarching villain focused and with a distinct identity that doesn't bleed into those who come before or after.
I do agree with you that building for longer is interesting and would be a lot of fun and at least somewhat makes sense and that there are ways to try to minimize some of the costs (I do think we lose something if we don't have an "I am Iron Man" moment at the end of the saga but it's not something I think is necessary for example).
I don't think its a huge thing to lose, plus there could be an equally poignant moment when Iron Man faces off against a different villain in Phase 3 or beyond if we can convince him.
Edit: In fact this line of thinking is exactly why I want to commit now to not recreating the original MCU. We shouldn't fall into the trap of using connection/enjoyment to the scene IRL make us want to recreate them.
I mean I'd like it to be a little more than just setting up the plot rocks with each phase. I'd like each Avenger's movie to change the status quo somehow for the world at large. I already talked about how I want to only pull the aliens card in the first Avenger's movie so suddenly the universe is opened up but I think we can do something like that for each "phase" where we open up a new part of the world which the following phase then explores.
Keep in mind that this is in no way a complete or comprehensive list of ideas.
Phase 1: Starts on earth introduces the basic superheroes, ends with an alien invasion that opens up stories in space and an exploration of some wider marvel stuff. Maybe Loki + Skrulls as the villains of Avengers.
Phase 2: Starts introducing a lot of space stuff like the Kree and Skrulls in full, Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy and whatever else we want to throw in there. Ends with a mystical threat on earth that shows that stuff out in space is not the only threat. Someone like Blackheart or a retooled Midgard Serpent could work great here or Hive. Maybe HYDRA's Dell Rusk/Winter Soldier could happen here if we went to weave mystical stuff throughout as opposed to boxing it into one phase.
Phase 3: Begins exploring old enemies on Earth in earnest and the various new threats. Ends with some aliens coming to earth to break humans and conquer the nine realms. Probably ought to go with the Kree High Intelligence is we went with the Skrulls for movie one.
Phase 4: Have the Avengers be a big deal with new heroes and villains popping up and having to adapt to being leaders. Fractures in the team start occurring and we get a villain who's goal is to fundamentally shatter the Avengers. Someone like Ultron would work here he doesn't break them necessarily but he lays the foundations that lead to a falling out.
Phase 5: The Avenger's breaking down and having issues and potentially a Civil War. Finish it with a villain once more setting up the cosmic side of things and who points out that though the Avengers have become a big deal they haven't helped the universe all that much and they may in fact be the problem themselves. Kang works well here.
Phase 6: Fallout from the last phase and the set up for the Infinity saga that closes everything out.
Like each phase builds on what came before it and has consequences for the narrative.
I agree that each Avengers movie ought to focus on its villain fully but at the same time I think we ought to have each villain build to everything that happens after them. An Avengers villain is such a big deal that the following phase is dealing with the aftermath of their actions if that makes any sense.
Edit: I think that we're best off just letting stones fall naturally where they belong in a story like this instead of arbitrarily cutting them off at distinct points.
I don't think its a huge thing to lose, plus there could be an equally poignant moment when Iron Man faces off against a different villain in Phase 3 or beyond if we can convince him.
Edit: In fact this line of thinking is exactly why I want to commit now to not recreating the original MCU. We shouldn't fall into the trap of using connection/enjoyment to the scene IRL make us want to recreate them.
I'm not arguing that it's a huge thing to lose, I'm just saying it is a loss that is happening. I'm a big fan of bookends (where a story starts and ends the same way) so knowing that this particular tool may not be available to us is something we ought to acknowledge. I don't think the "I am Iron Man" moment is at all necessary to the greater story we want to tell and I'm fine with getting rid of it. I'm just pointing out that if we go with the plan we've tentatively agreed to then we don't get that moment and that's a price we have to accept potentially paying (I'm willing to do it but I'd rather be aware and consciously making the choice than stumbling into it accidentally).
I have a quick question I'd like to discuss with you all: Who are we gonna make the villain/villains in Hulk?
We have Grey Gargoyle, Zzzax, Tyrannus, Thunderbolt Ross, General Ryker, Gremlin, Abomination, Absorbing Man... If we want to take some stuff from the original Quest, there's the Wendigo, Leader, and Ravage.
I have a quick question I'd like to discuss with you all: Who are we gonna make the villain/villains in Hulk?
We have Grey Gargoyle, Zzzax, Tyrannus, Thunderbolt Ross, General Ryker, Gremlin, Abomination, Absorbing Man... If we want to take some stuff from the original Quest, there's the Wendigo, Leader, and Ravage.
I personally would like to go with Harpy and General Ross. Give General Ross a real solid reason to hate Bruce and the Hulk and a reason for Bruce to hate himself/the Hulk. Alternatively Hulk vs. Radioactive Man with Ross hunting both and Radioactive Man is Rick Jones seems fun. I think the first story is a little better as it gives more focus to a classic enemy and doesn't deviate from the source material too wildly too early (butterfly wings to hurricanes and we're still in the butterfly wings phase) but I could see the other story working better if we want to have more of a punchfest and do something different.
I personally would like to go with Harpy and General Ross. Give General Ross a real solid reason to hate Bruce and the Hulk and a reason for Bruce to hate himself/the Hulk. Alternatively Hulk vs. Radioactive Man with Ross hunting both and Radioactive Man is Rick Jones.
No. Just have the gamma bomb that turns Bruce into Hulk also be what transforms Betty. The reason (at least as initially presented) the Hulk is stronger/more difficult to cure is because Bruce shielded Betty with his body and thus got blasted by more gamma rays.
[X] Plan Butterfly Wings
-[X] [Obadiah] Make the suggested change; with Obadiah and Tony facing each other due to conflicting beliefs
-[X] [Mid-Credit Scene] Write In: The scene shows Phil Coulson speaking to his boss on the phone about the Iron Man situation. He talks about what a mess it was and that he's glad that it's over. The conversation concludes with a talk about how he hopes the situation with the hammer will be more easily resolved. The camera then pans and we see that the hammer in question is Mjolnir.
When you received the first draft you could hardly contain your excitement...actually that's a lie, you did not contain your excitement. You had to deal with complaints about your noise for nearly the entire day. Then again, could they blame you? The Iron Man script was so bright that it could be used as a lantern...Okay, bad analogy, but it's the thought that counts, right?
God, the story is so good! And the new direction going with Obadiah makes his fall even more tragic and sad without taking away the heroism of Tony as well. Growing up you were always more of a Spider-Man and Captain America fan (Soon my lovelies, soon) but damn if this movie doesn't make you want to read the comics again...
Like there was any doubt. Both Ike and the rest of the executives at Marvel had invested too much into this project to stop it now (No mention on Hulk, but you should get a response soon enough). The extra money was good; it will certainly be put to good use.
This, unfortunately, did not help when it came to casting. Most of the big name stars the studio had spent so much time courting had second thoughts once the drama at Marvel was known. You were lucky that you managed to get some others interested, but this is mainly because of hours and days of pleading and convincing them to just give it a chance. Whether they return for the other movies is not certain.
Do not vote until this post is one hour old. This will give time for additional casting suggestions. Casting suggestions are appreciated.
Casting Pepper Potts: Pepper Potts is Stark's Girl Friday. A personal assistant and budding love interest, she is described as smart, levelheaded, and grounded. "Fun in an innocent yet sexy way." As Pepper is prominently redheaded we're looking for actresses with either natural red hair or who could pull off dyed red hair.
[] [Pepper] Jessica Chastain – Hey, an actual redhead! Chastain is best known for her theatrical and television performances, but has expressed a recent interest in breaking through to the big screen. Iron Man as a big budget high-profile flick looking for someone who looks just like her could be a perfect vehicle to help her get there. Focusing on skilled people who aren't superstars yet has been an interest of yours.
[] [Pepper] Charlize Theron – Not a redhead, but this successful award-winning actress and producer has made an impression in the Hollywood scene for the last decade. Though mostly noticed for her looks, she also has expressed an interest once you presented your case for the role. She had been considering another role for a movie with Will Smith, but she is reconsidering.
[] [Pepper] Christina Hendricks – This talented actress is best known for her TV performance. At the moment she is also considering an offer from another TV series which is about to air, but you've seen her talent and she does have what it takes to be in the big screen. That she is also a redhead helps as well.
[] [Pepper] Isla Fisher – Another iconic redhead who had her breakthrough two years ago with Wedding Crashers, Fisher has been best received so far in her romantic comedic roles (which Iron Man sort of fits but also not at all) but has expressed some interest in breaking out of that genre. Sacha Baron Cohen is also her fiancé if we want to find a cameo for him (or Borat) as one of Tony's kidnappers!
[] [Pepper] I'm thinking of someone else (write-in).
Casting James Rhodes: "Rhodey" Rhodes is a friend of Stark's, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the Air Force's department of acquisitions. The actor should be able to portray the clash between his strict military life and Tony's independence, as well as potentially play the hero War Machine in a sequel film.
[] [Rhodes] Don Cheadle – Cheadle has had a busy year so far, having just co-starred in Ocean's Thirteen, but he's available now and could be convinced (Hopefully) to play the part. He's been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor so everyone knows he's good at what he does, but he's also funny and likable in his own right, making him potentially a really solid choice to portray the future superhero in this film. (Negotiation Roll Required)
[] [Rhodes] Edi Gathegi – He just made is first debut a couple of years ago, but the reviews on his performances so far are solid enough. At the moment he's auditioned for another movie aside from this one. Something about...Sparkling vampires...What are kids looking at these days. He's no fan of the comics, but he seems capable of adapting to the role.
[] [Rhodes] Omar Epps – He's mostly known for his performance as Dr. Eric Foreman in House, but he has also appeared in other movies, sometimes as a crook, sometimes as a detective, and sometimes as just comic relief. He hopes this might be the role that gives him his breakthrough.
[] [Rhodes] Mahershala Ali – A somewhat untested film actor, Ali has mostly starred in television thus far though you've heard he's being considered by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. From what you can see though he's damn talented and not unwilling to get involved in a comic book movie. His television roots could actually be a good thing. Marvel gets a fresh face and he doesn't expect as much.
[] [Rhodes] I'm thinking of someone else (write-in).
Casting Obadiah Stane: Obadiah Stane is Stark's business partner, mentor, and friend who becomes the film's antagonist after Tony returns from captivity. While looking for an older actor here, Favreau is searching here for qualities similar to what he's looking for in Stark, seeing as Obadiah represents the old version of him.
[] [Stane] Ed Harris – He can certainly pull of a sinister villain and he looks like the comic version of Stane. He's not quite as comedically rooted as the other guys under consideration but he's a damn good actor who has done great in various roles throughout the years. If we want a threatening and intense villain it'd be hard to find someone better for the job.
[] [Stane] Willem Dafoe – While he is currently appearing this year in Spider-Man 3 for Sony, William has made his intention clear on appearing in any Marvel film that will have him. He's displayed the energy and presence that he brings to all his projects, and seeing him bounce off of Robert is a blast and a half.
[] [Stane] Jeffrey Dean Morgan – He's made an impact in his role as patient Denny Duquette in Grey's Anatomy. Known for playing amoral and villainous characters, Jeffrey has looked at the script and liked what he has found. That he can also nail the comedic aspect of the character makes him nearly a shoe in.
[] [Stane] Graham McTavish – Mostly known as the submarine captain in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, this Scottish actor has appeared in several TV series in both Britain and in the U.S. While tending more for a serious approach, he does fit the look for Obadiah that Jon was looking for.
Casting Obadiah Stane: Obadiah Stane is Stark's business partner, mentor, and friend who becomes the film's antagonist after Tony returns from captivity. While looking for an older actor here, Favreau is searching here for qualities similar to what he's looking for in Stark, seeing as Obadiah represents the old version of him.
I don't think Dafoe is a good idea. The excerpt says he's going to be in Spider-Man 3 this year and I do not want our film to be competing with Spider-Man in any way.
I'm actually partial to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he actually looks a bit like RDJ and he has experience playing bad parental figures from Supernatural.
