Robert Downey Jr. Says ‘Iron Man 2′ Tells Story Of ‘How A Dysfunctional Family Saves Life On Earth’

it’s nearly impossible to separate Robert Downey Jr. from his now ubiquitous role as Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), so it’s no surprise that, during a press junket for the actor’s latest film, “The Soloist,” the folks over at Collider jumped at the chance to get some juicy tidbits about the upcoming, insanely-anticipated sequel to last summer’s box office smash. And as usual, Downey wasn’t shy about playing along.

“Day one I’m doing a Senate hearing where the government is saying the Iron Man tech needs to be turned over to the Senator and the Senator is Gary Shandling,” said Downey in reference to recent rumors that Shandling had joined the production. “And we had this fantastic day that was somehow this controlled chaos of a Senate hearing where I keep interrupting them and dah dah dah.”

Downey also makes mention of a new Iron Man suit in the follow-up film, but notes that there are definite risks involved with “Iron Man 2.”

“The set pieces have to do with things that aren’t your typical, like, bad guy conflict,” Downey hinted. “The relationships are very complex and hilarious. The motivations Tony has and why he turns around and does things has completely to do with his own internal processes and it really is, I think, as much as we tried to in the first one really see behind the façade of this kind of storytelling. We really, I think, leaving ourselves open to…we’re kind of trying to tell a story about how a dysfunctional family saves life on Earth as we know it.”

And much like Downey is to Ol’ Shellhead, when the topic of “Iron Man 2″ comes up, it’s nearly just as difficult not to ask about Mickey Rourke’s role in the surefire blockbuster.

“I’ve seen his stuff and it is literally remarkable,” said Downey. “Literally remarkable. He’s so good. And he’s formidable and he’s very much reminding me of that kind of charming, confident guy that we know.”