Well it looks like Terrance Howard isn’t that only Iron Man actor getting the shaft in the Marvel Studios sequel. Latino Review reports a rumor that Gerard Sanders, who played Tony Stark’s father Howard in a montage will not return for Iron Man 2. Instead, Howard Stark will be played by Tim Robbins. Apparently there is a pretty important flashback sequence that among other things, helps set up The Avengers and Captain America films, and director Jon Favreau needed an actor who could pull off the scene.

While not 100% confirmed, this makes perfect sense. Screenwriter Mark Fergus told MTV in September that Tony’s “relationship with his father and this person you only heard about in the first movie is going to be much more fully explored” in the sequel and “in other Marvel movies”. It certainly makes sense to involve Howard Stark in the Super Soldier program.

El Mayimbe also reports that both Hawkeye and Black Widow are part of the story. I’m not sure what to think about the inclusion of other superheroes, but I understand that Marvel needs to transition from a slightly believable premise of Iron Man into a world full of superheroes in The Avengers. Even Robert Downey Jr. made a comment about this recently. I’m guessing that the transition might be a tough one.