It was directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux. It stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. The story is set six months after the events of "Iron Man". Tony Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man. He is resisting calls by the United States government to hand over the technology. Ivan Vanko, meanwhile, has developed the same technology and built weapons of his own.