Iron Man 2: Emily Blunt Officially Out? American Gladiator/Pro Wrestler Matt Morgan As A Villain?

While Iron Man director Jon Favreau was walking the red carpet at the Oscars, the director apparently revealed to E! that Emily Blunt is officially out as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. According the the Playlist, Favreau said that 20th Century Fox has decided to exercise their option on the actress, an option that was part of Blunt's Devil Wears Prada contract, and that she will be starring in Gulliver's Travels instead.

Also, professional wrestler turned American Gladiator Matt Morgan appeared on Hot Talk 1280 WHTK and revealed that he is in talks to play a villain role in the comic book sequel. He couldn't reveal anymore, according to WrestleZone (found via: Comic Book Movie), but said that the casting directors discovered him on American Gladiators. The TNA wrestler is also supposedly going to have a part in the 9th season of Smallville.

Wrestlers are known for hyping up their own careers, so it's hard to know if this is real or not. American Gladiator Mike O'Hearn has been going around for over a year claiming that he is in talks for Conan and has auditioned for Captain America, but both claims seem to be fabricated (or at least unsubstantiated). I'm sure if Morgan is involved with Iron Man 2, it is probably a smaller part, possibly just a villain's muscular henchman.

Last we heard, Fox and Marvel were still trying to make it work for Blunt, but apparently the scheduling hit some kind of snag. EW reported last week that Scarlett Johansson was in talks to replace Blunt if she did drop out, while Eliza Dushku has been campaigning for the part on her Dollhouse press tour. I don't like either of the choices as neither comes close to the acting talents of Blunt.

Discuss: Who would you like to see play the Black Widow?