One of the most common complaints about the villains in the Iron Man franchise is that both had suits that were dastardly twisted versions of the Iron Man armor. That complaint may irk its ugly head once more in Iron Man 3, as Ashley Hamilton is now in talks to play Firepower, who Variety confirms to be the villain the film. Not only that, but the trade reports that the movie will borrow elements from the Warren-Ellis six-issue comic book arc.

Here’s the profile on Firepower:

We still don’t know how much of a factor Firepower will play in the movie. We don’t even know what villain Ben Kinglsey will be playing, although many are speculating that he will portray the Mandarin.

And while we are on the topic of Iron Man 3 casting, Jon Favreau (director of the first two Iron Man films) will reprise his role as Happy Hogan. The filmmaker confirmed the news via his Twitter account. No word yet no if he will have an extended role like he did in Iron Man 2 or if his role will be reduced to a cameo scene like in the first Iron Man.

Now for some Thor 2 news. Once again, Variety has word that Mad Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) will be joining the cast of Thor 2 as a villain. However, we are unable to uncover which baddie he will play. There is no doubt that Mikkelsen casts a dark presence when he is on screen, but how much of his villainous presence will be used in the movie has yet to be revealed.

We do know that Tom Hiddleston will return to play Loki, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has said that Thor 2 will have a big villain aside from Loki.

Thor 2 is expected to shoot later this summer, while Iron Man 3 is scheduled to begin filming in a few days.

[Source: Variety (Iron Man); Variety (Thor 2), Twitter]