Only Javier Bardem could be more villainous than Gordon Gekko

As expected, Hedge Funds will be the villain of Wall Street 2 (seriously great title guys, it's so much better than Money Never Sleeps, right?) and according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily, they will be fronted by the villainous Javier Bardem. Michael Douglas' sleeze bag Gordon Gekko is being postioned as the good guy this time around and will attempt to garner our sympathy by patching up his estranged relationship with his daughter after spending a lengthy spell in prison. Shia LaBeouf is the man in the middle, as an ambitious Charlie Sheen esque stockbroker who is engaged Grekko's daughter but has a bit of a breakdown when his stockbroking mentor is unexpectedly killed due to the pressures of the job. Shia of course blames Bardem's Hedge Fund Manager. The film will look at the events from June 2008 to now, with the recent Federal bailout included and a reformed Gekko seeing the future clearer than ours, knowing the market is about to sink. Finke reports...

Shia goes to Gordon saying, 'I need your help', and makes a Faustian deal with Gekko who in return wants Shia's help getting back with the daughter. From then on, it's 'antagonism' for everyone".

The movie films in August for a release in February 2010, with Oliver Stone back to direct from an Allan Loeb (21, Things We Lost in the Fire) screenplay. Just as the first film, real financial investors have been helping craft the story.