Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell in talks for Iron Man 2

Variety reports that Mickey Rourke, who is currently enjoying success from his role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, is in negotiations to play the main baddie in the upcoming Iron Man sequel, which Jon Favreau starts shooting this spring.

Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, Choke) is also in talks to play another villain in the film, which hits theaters in the summer of 2010.

Rockwell’s role hasn’t been revealed by Marvel, but Rourke would play the Crimson Dynamo, a heavily tattooed Russian arms dealer and crime boss. According to the Marvel lexicon, he is considered to be an evil version of Iron Man, as he battles the superhero in his own suit of armor.

Justin Theroux, who wrote Tropic Thunder, is penning the script.

Already on board for the highly anticipated sequel are Don Cheadle, who’s replacing Terrence Howard as Col. James Rhodes (soon to be War Machine, with his own suit of armor), a returning Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow as Iron Man’s assistant Pepper Potts and possibly Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.