In response to fan outrage that some of the footage in Iron Man 3 was exclusive to the Chinese release, the studios have decided to recut said footage into a short film and release it.  The short focuses on Dr. Wu, a character who only gets ten seconds of screen time in the American theatrical release.  Titled The Prologue, the short film will reveal more about Wu, who is played by the Chinese actor Wang Xueqi.  Hit the jump for more information.

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According to The Playlist, The Prologue will be roughly 3 minutes long, and it is unknown whether or not the short film will be a standalone release or a special feature in the Blu-ray release. Iron Man 3 included the China-specific scenes because it was co-financed by the Chinese company DMG Entertainment.  Personally, I think this short film is unnecessary for fans to demand.  As we previously covered, the Chinese-only scenes are not only chock full of Chinese product placement, but they also lack any strong additional plot development.  However, if it’s just a matter of hardcore fans wanting to see every piece of footage possible related to the film, I guess I can understand.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau and Sir Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 opened stateside on May 3rd.  At $175.3 Million, it had the second highest opening weekend of any film in the US, beating out The Dark Knight, and falling short of Joss Whedon’s film The Avengers, which also featured the ironclad American hero.

For all of our coverage on Iron Man 3, click here.