Marvel Star Sam Rockwell Addresses His 11-Year Absence From the MCU

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ComicBook asked Rockwell if he was tired of getting questions about Justin Hammer and the MCU, but he replied, “Well, I’m a nerd too, so I don’t, no.” As for the answer, he said simply, “I’m waiting for the call. Hasn’t come in yet, but I’m waiting. I heard they’re shooting Avengers somewhere. I’m not there.”

Hammer was a major character in Iron Man 2, where he tried to engineer Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) downfall to raise his own prospects in the weapons industry. His clumsy plots were eventually overtaken by the machinations of Ivan Vanko (Micky Rourke), which made Hammer seem more bumbling and fun to watch by comparison. Rockwell reprised his role as Hammer in the short film All Hail the King, a “Marvel One-Shot” included in the Blu-ray release of Thor: The Dark World. That was in 2014.

Rockwell did also play Hammer in the animated series What If…? in 2023. It was Season 2, Episode 3, “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”, and in it, Hammer attacked Avengers tower during their annual holiday party. Still, fans see a lot of potential in bringing the character back in a live-action setting. It would make sense for Hammer to be mixed up in plots like the trade of alien artifacts in Spider-Man: Homecoming, for example.

Marvel Studios has not announced any plans for Hammer in the near future, but fans never hesitate to speculate about upcoming titles. Right now, the upcoming title with the best potential seems to be Armor Wars, which will be about James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) as War Machine. The plot is reportedly about Rhodey tracking down Stark technology that has fallen into the wrong hands — a perfect fit for Hammer. Of course, the beauty of the MCU is crossovers, and Hammer could conceivably show up in just about any project in a surprise capacity.

In the meantime, Hammer brings all the same smugness to The Bad Guys 2, in theaters on August 1st. Iron Man 2 and his other MCU titles are streaming now on Disney+.