If you were somehow nervous Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) couldn’t handle directing Iron Man 3, it’s time to relax.  Right before the Super Bowl, Marvel invited a number of domestic and international reporters to a special screening of footage from the highly-anticipated sequel.  Normally when they do footage screenings, it’s a sizzle reel, meaning you see brief moments from a number of scenes.  However, for Iron Man 3, the presentation started with Kevin Feige (the President of Production at Marvel Studios) telling us what happens in the first 20 minutes of the film, and then he showed us what happens in the following 15 minutes.  We saw a ton of action, heard some fantastic Shane Black dialogue, learned what kind of impact The Avengers had on Tony Stark, and witnessed the power of the Mandarin.  When the lights finally came up, I was smiling ear to ear and desperately wanting to see more.

Continued after the jump.

While Marvel and Disney have been trying to keep the buzz on Iron Man 3 on a low hum, that’s all about to change.  With the film’s release date fast approaching (May 3), the studios have started unveiling the merchandise and they also recently held a long lead press day where they showed selected members of the press about 15 minutes of the movie.  In addition, right after watching the awesome-looking footage, we got to interview Robert Downey Jr. as well as Iron Man 3 director Shane Black and Kevin Feige (President of Production at Marvel Studios).

During the interview with Black and Feige, the two talked about creating the film’s iteration of The Mandarin, how the film’s plot came together, the connective tissue between The Avengers and Iron Man 3, how Downey, Black and Drew Pearce worked together on the dialogue on set, the way Iron Patriot plays a role in the sequel, the stunt-heavy filming of the Air Force One attack sequence, and so much more.  If you’re looking forward to Iron Man 3, I promise you’ll love this interview.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what they had to say.

The new trailer for Iron Man 3 has gone online.  The previous trailer presented a much darker tone for the franchise, and that’s still what we’re getting.  That’s fine.  Again, writer-director Shane Black has my full trust even if we’re not seeing his trademark snappy dialogue (although I love Ben Kingsley‘s delivery of the line, “You’ll never see me coming.”).  What this new trailer does show is action that looks absolutely insane.  I would love to see this trailer on the big screen, but I’ll probably have to wait until I see the finished film to check out these blockbuster set pieces.  I can live with that.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer. The film also stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and Rebecca Hall.  Iron Man 3 opens May 3rd. 

Two new TV spots for Iron Man 3 debuted during today’s Super Bowl, but now four new images from the Shane Black picture are available.  While Robert Downey Jr. is hidden away behind various versions of his armor, we do get to see the Armored Avenger amidst his rescue of airplane passengers.  We also get a clear shot of Don Cheadle tucked safely away within his Iron Patriot/War Machine armor.

Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau and James Badge Dale, Iron Man 3 opens internationally in IMAX 3D theaters starting April 25th with a wide domestic release on May 3.  Hit the jump to see the new images and watch the two Super Bowl TV spots in case you missed them.

Marvel has released a new image from Iron Man 3, and this one doesn’t involve Tony Stark or explosions of any kind.  Instead, we get a look at the scientist character played by Rebecca Hall sporting a minor head wound and hanging out in what looks to be a lab of some sort.  We don’t know much about who Hall plays, but I’m happy to see that director Shane Black has fleshed the cast out with another (hopefully) strong female character.  Whether she’s friend or foe, we’ll find out soon enough.

Hit the jump to take a look at the image and to catch up on the recent barrage of Iron Man 3 news.  The film opens in 3D on May 3rd.

Marvel’s The Avengers was a success on nearly every level when it hit theaters last year, and so it sets a high bar for Marvel’s other superhero films going forward.  In addition to trying to top the quality of the Joss Whedon-helmed epic, future standalone films now have to face the problem of “Well if he just called in his pal Thor, this whole problem would be solved right away.”  The first standalone movie out of the gate post-Avengers is director Shane Black’s sequel Iron Man 3, and Marvel president Kevin Feige has been adamant about IM3 being its own thing in relation to The Avengers.

During a recent interview, star Robert Downey Jr. was asked if we might see any cameos from his Avengers buddies in the upcoming sequel, and he may or may not have provided a bit of a hint.  Hit the jump for more.

Iron Man 3 is set to kick-off the summer, and Robert Downey Jr. recently sat down for an interview about the film as well as other subjects (Entertainment Weekly is drawing out the interview for the whole week).  While it’s always nice to see Downey do his thing, my anticipation for Iron Man 3 is all about director Shane Black.  Black’s previous film, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, is one of my all-time favorites, and I can’t wait to see what he does with his first blockbuster.  While this will be a summer tent pole, Downey says Black has kept his pulpy style intact. “It’s a hallmark of the Shane Black [scripts] since the beginning of his career,” says Downey, “and it’s been really fun to bring that to Tony Stark’s world.”

Hit the jump for more, including an action scene we should forward to as well as Rhodey’s (Don Cheadle) part in the sequel.  The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau, and James Badge Dale.  Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3rd.

Marvel has unveiled a new holiday-themed image from the upcoming Iron Man 3.  It’s a fun idea that keeps the marketing going over the holiday break, but I find it of particular note given that Shane Black is directing the sequel.  Most of the films that Black has written and/or directed (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Long Kiss Goodnight) take place during Christmas, and I’m hoping that Iron Man 3 is no different. The footage we saw at Comic-Con was prefaced by a full clip from the film in which Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was playing around with some new armor while dancing to Run DMC’s “Christmas in Holils,” so coupled with this image I think it’s safe to say at least some of the film takes place during the holiday season.

Hit the jump to recapture some of that holiday cheer from a few days ago.  Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3, 2013.

This morning, we have some new comments from stars Robert Downey Jr. and James Badge Dale about Iron Man 3.  Dale, who was last seen in Flight, plays the villain Eric Savin a.k.a. “Coldblood.”  Speaking to Glow [via Just Jared], Dale talked a bit about the tone for the upcoming superhero sequel.  “[Iron Man 3] is really a dark comedy with a little bit of farce,” said Dale. “The trick is to be able to have the audience relate to you. Director Shane Black gave me a long leash.”  We’ve definitely seen the darkness from the recent trailer, but looking at Black’s previous films, I’m sure the comedy will be present as well.

Hit the jump for what Downey had to say about reuniting with Black and more.  Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3, 2013.

Since production details regarding director Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 first started to trickle out back before filming began, we’ve known that Marvel has been planning to shoot some scenes in China.  This decision made perfect sense as the film’s villain, played by Ben Kingsley, was rumored to be the half-Chinese half-English comics character The Mandarin, and China’s DMG Entertainment was mulling a co-production deal with Marvel on the film.  Filming on the superhero sequel started up this past June in North Carolina, but throughout the long shoot filming never moved over to China.

Now it appears that, just five months out from release, Black and Co. are gearing up to do some additional filming in Beijing as Chinese actor Wang Xuequi has joined the cast.  Hit the jump for more details, including a couple of new images.

A Japanese trailer for director Shane Black’s upcoming sequel Iron Man 3 has landed online.  There doesn’t appear to be any substantial amount of new footage, but instead looks to be a different edit of the teaser trailer that debuted a few weeks ago.  This one plays up the post-Avengers aspect a bit more, and puts the action/destruction front and center.

Hit the jump to watch the international trailer.  The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau, and James Badge Dale.  Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3, 2013.

The Comic-Con footage of Iron Man 3 was a nice balance between the light-hearted and the serious.  The teaser trailer dropped away all of the light-hearted stuff (which was Tony Stark trying to put on his new armor), and placed the smart-aleck hero into a surprisingly dark situation.  Despite the tone presented in the trailer, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige assures fans that Iron Man 3 won’t be a gloomy affair.  Speaking to The West Australian, Feige says,

“It’s not a serious movie, but we seriously dig into exploring more of Tony. The trick is just trying to make great movies. We try to make them all great, all different and all fresh. What you’ll see in Iron Man 3 is some very unique directions that were taken.”

Hit the jump for more.  Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3, 2013.

China is already a huge market for American-made films, but looks to increase its purchasing power by expanding the number of American-Chinese co-productions in the coming year.  Chief among them is the Marvel movie Iron Man 3, which is currently filming.  However, a snafu occurred recently when questions were raised as to what exactly comprised a “co-production.”  The two sides hashed it out at a joint film summit held at UCLA on Monday and things look prosperous for the future.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Sir Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall and Jon Favreau, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 is slated to open May 3rd, 2013.  Hit the jump for more on the American-Chinese co-production of Iron Man 3.

Marvel movie fans know what they’re getting from Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Iron Man; what we don’t yet know is what to expect from Sir Ben Kingsley’s performance as the villainous Mandarin in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3.  When the new trailer debuted, audiences were split on Kingsley’s choice of accent, comparing it to the affected tones of Tom Hardy’s Bane in the recent superhero smash, The Dark Knight Rises. Marvel Studio’s president and producer on Iron Man 3, Kevin Feige, previously commented on what the film’s version of the Mandarin would be like compared to the comics.  Now, Feige talks about Kingsley’s performance of the infamous character and how he managed something that’s never been done on a Marvel movie set before.

Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall and Jon Favreau, Iron Man 3 opens May 3rd, 2013.  Hit the jump for more. 

By now you’ve surely seen the first trailer for director Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Sir Ben Kingsley.  You might have even glanced at the collection of images we pulled from said trailer to get a closer look at the images hidden within.  Now, we’re going to take those images and speculate as to what they might mean for the plot.  What’s up with War Machine’s paint job? Why is Iron Man all up in people’s faces and being a sleep creep?  Why does an over-sized bunny appear to have an arc-reactor?  What’s the deal with the Mandarin’s rings? Marvel’s Kevin Feige has some insight to share on that last question.  Hit the jump to see the answers.

Iron Man 3, also starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall, opens in 3D on May 3rd, 2013.