Actor Jeff Bridges has been cast in the upcoming "Iron Man" film, the first full-length project by the newly-formed Marvel Entertainment, says the Hollywood Reporter. His character, whose name has not yet been released, will be a close friend and confidante of Tony Stark, Iron Man's rich playboy alterego. Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as Stark, with Terrence Howard cast as Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, better known as the hero War Machine. Also joining the cast is Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's love interest, Virginia "Pepper" Potts. Jon Favreau is directing the movie. At last word, the Mandarin was slated to be the villain of the movie, although the producers have said they wish to strip him of some of his Cold War aspects (and hopefully the racially-insensitive aspects at the same time).

Iron Man first appeared in 1962. A wealthy industrialist and brilliant inventor, Tony Stark was kidnapped by the Chinese military and forced to make weapons until he built the iron suit and escaped his captors; a bullet lodged in his chest requires he wear the iron breastplate at all times to survive. The popular comics character was featured in a well-written 1990's animated series, and was recently featured in his own direct-to-video full-length animated movie.