Not in Iron Man ... Hilary Swank. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Among the many rumours floating around Iron Man before Marvel studio's firstborn fired its way into box office history was the suggestion that Hilary Swank might be making some sort of cameo. The word was that Ms Swank - who certainly has the requisite muscularity to play a superhero - would make an appearance, setting up a potential future solo film as She-Hulk or Black Widow. It was even apparently confirmed by producer Avi Arad.
But it never happened. And now, it seems, it never was going to happen. Here are a few choice words from Arad, a former head of Marvel, no less:
"It got into the internet and, you know, especially with MTV. These rumours are starting. There were cameos that were real, and we were trying to move [the media] away from the real."
Forgive me if you see it differently, but it seems to me that what Arad is actually saying is this:
"We completely made it all up. And you all fell for it. Har har."
Is this the start of a disingenuous new studio trend? Because with the way that internet rumours spread these days, that's going to make for a whole mess of false information. What other stuff are they planting?
