Sam Rockwell has spoken about his Marvel character Justin Hammer, saying he’s keen for the super-smart villain to return, perhaps as part of the MCU’s Thunderbolts.
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a thing, director Jon Favreau called up Sam Rockwell and asked him to audition for the role of Tony Star/Iron Man. But before his screen test, Robert Downey Jr. nailed it, and the rest is history.
However, Favreau did not forget about Rockwell, and when it came time to make Iron Man 2, he called the actor up again and cast him in the role of Justin Hammer.
However, while audience response to Hammer was positive, the film itself was less well received, and it was the last we saw of Rockwell as the character.
What did Sam Rockwell say about Justin Hammer’s return?
While talking to Sam Rockwell about the new comedy See How They Run – which revolves around a murder during the production of an Agatha Christie play – The Playlist asked if he’d like to play Justin Hammer again.
“Yes, definitely,” came the reply from Rockwell. “I would be into it. [Thunderbolts] sounds cool…[Hammer’s] cool, he’s a real Lex Luthor.”
The Thunderbolts Sam Rockwell alludes to is an upcoming Marvel movie that combines a bunch of villains and anti-heroes, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Justice (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).
Who is Justin Hammer?
The MCU version of Justin Hammer is a military contractor who rivals Tony Stark, and speaking to The AV Club in 2013, Rockwell said that Favreau made him the dark side of that character…
“I think Jon basically said, ‘This is your chance to be Tony Stark. This is going to be your version of Tony Stark.’ We gave him the glasses and tossed him up a little bit. But it’s just right. It was a chance to do Tony Stark.”
In Iron Man 2, he recruits terrorist Ivan Vanko to replicate Stark’s Arc Reactor technology, but it ultimately backfires, with Vanko double-crossing him and Justin Hammer ending up in Seagate Prison – which is where we could find him at the start of a Thunderbolts Film…
