Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man 2 Begins Filming

In what will certainly be one of the most anticipated sequels of recent years, Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his superhero role in Iron Man 2, which began filming yesterday.

In Iron Man's second flight through theaters, Robert Downey Jr. will be joined by some new stars and some familiar ones. Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson will all be part of the cast of the sequel. Gwyneth Paltrow will be returning and Jon Favreau will once again be in the director's chair.

With it's roots in Stan Lee's works from 1963, the Iron Man saga is so long and complex that it would take a dozen movies to capture any real insight into all that the character has endured and overcome. Purists will always find it hard to reconcile the onscreen adaptations of their favorite characters from comic books and episodic animated programs. But with today's special effects, some of that disappointment is overcome by the fact that film makers can create an image onscreen that in many cases exceeds the imagination of readers.

In that regard, modern film adaptations of classic comic book sagas can be especially entertaining and rewarding for audiences. Not to mention the fact that for at least two generations of mainstream Americans, the film Iron Man is the first time that they have seen the character or learned any real details about the story's origins.

As we have seen already with franchises like Batman, X-Men, Spiderman and others, Iron Man 2 is almost assured to be a huge box office success. Robert Downey Jr. is likely to be in for at least an Iron Man 3 and possibly more.