Kicking off the blockbuster movie season, Marvel Studios is releasing Iron Man 3 on May 3^rd.  This time out, brilliant billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), aka Iron Man, faces a terrifying enemy, known as The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), whose reach knows no bounds, and he must rely on his own instincts to protect those that he loves.  From director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow (“Pepper Potts”), Don Cheadle (“James Rhodes”), Guy Pearce (“Aldrich Killian”), Rebecca Hall (“Maya Hansen”) and Jon Favreau (“Happy Hogan”).

During this press conference at the film’s Los Angeles junket, co-stars Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall, along with Shane Black, talked about the ambitions for Iron Man 3, the version that will be shown in China with additional footage, giving up the use of the F-word for the PG-13 film, why Christmas was the right setting for the story, what made this version of The Mandarin the perfect villain, and working with co-star Robert Downey, Jr.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

After the worldwide success of Joss Whedon‘s The Avengers, writer-director Shane Black stepped into an almost unwinnable situation helming Iron Man 3.  While he would have Marvel’s biggest star, Robert Downey Jr., he wouldn’t be able to call on the rest of the Marvel universe for help, and fan expectations for the third installment were sky high.  But even though the cards were stacked against him, I’m happy to report that Iron Man 3 is a rousing success.  Not only is Black’s script fantastic and laugh out loud funny, he’s also crafted some amazing action set pieces and created a villain that everyone will be talking about.  Continued after the jump.

While Shane Black’s skills as a screenwriter have been more than proven with films like Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and The Monster Squad, he also showed himself to be an immensely talented director with the fantastic 2005 gem Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.  A few years ago he signed on to write and direct a feature film iteration of the 1930s and 40s pul fiction hero Doc Savage, but his plans for that film were deterred a bit when Marvel sought Black out to come on and helm the highly anticipated Iron Man 3.

Steve recently spoke with Black at the Iron Man 3 junket and also with producer Neal Moritz in a separate, extended interview, and both provided some very promising updates on Doc Savage, saying the film is back on track with the goal of making it Black’s next film.  Hit the jump for more.

A new featurette for the Shane Black-directed sequel Iron Man 3 has been released online.  Its primary focus is to explain Extremis, the technology used by Ben Kingsley’s The Mandarin to pull off his terrorist tactics and inflict chaos in the world of Tony Stark.  Black and producer Kevin Feige explain the basics of Extremis and how it works in the human body to generate a new breed of unstoppable human beings.  We also get a bit of insight from James Badge Dale on why this new technology appealed to him in relation to his character.  Robert Downey Jr. seems particularly amused by the concept, citing it as one of the things he’s most excited about in the film.

Hit the jump to watch the new featurette.  If you missed the first two clips, you can check them out here and here.  The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, and Jon Favreau.  Iron Man 3 opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 3rd.

If I know our readers, you want to see as much of you can of Iron Man 3.  You are in luck: Marvel has released six minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the superhero sequel.  It is nice to see Robert Downey Jr. play with all the different suits (although there is a notable amount of plainclothes action) and do some of his own stunts.  But for me the big revelation is that Tony Stark appears to spend a good deal of bonding time with a young kid (Ty Simpkins).

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley co-star.  Directed by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Iron Man 3 opens May 3.  Watch the B-roll after the break.

I realize that it’s a little too March to be discussing my favorite holiday gifts, but I only recently had the opportunity to dive into one of mine and, as a result, I feel the need to share it’s greatness with our readers. The ESPN 30 for 30 Collector’s Set Blu-ray is an outstanding collection of sports documentaries that is rife with social commentary and almost sure to have something for sports and/or documentary fans alike. Before I get accused of paid programming, I’ll disclaim that all thirty of its films aren’t home runs (that’s right, a sports pun). Moreover, I’m fairly sure that all of the series’ entries are available to watch instantly on Netflix right now making the physical collection redundant for some. Regardless of how you partake, I encourage you to sift through the series, find a topic that interests you, and give it a shot.

All recommendations aside, this week’s Top 5 features a healthy portion of Iron Man 3 coverage (including the new trailer), Oz the Great and Powerful interviews with Sam Raimi, James Franco, Mila Kunis, and more, the first trailer for The Hangover Part III, a sizable Justice League movie rumor, and the new trailer and poster for Will Smith and Jaden Smith‘s After Earth. As you may be expecting, a brief recap and link for each of the above waits after the jump.

I love comic book writer Warren Ellis. His series Transmetropolitan and Planetary are among my all-time favorite comics. However, I found his Iron Man story arc “Extremis” a tad underwhelming, although it did offer up the interesting idea of Tony Stark needing to be completely one with his armor. As far as the book’s plot, it doesn’t easily translate to a blockbuster feature, but Iron Man 3 writer-director Shane Black recently told SFX Magazine that he found a way to make it work. Black talks about using the book as a starting point rather than a straight adaptation. It sounds like he’s found a way to flesh out bits from “Extremis”, and thoughtfully integrate them into the upcoming movie.

Hit the jump for more including a new poster. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley. Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3rd.

Earlier today, Marvel unveiled this fantastic new trailer for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, but now a new international trailer is also available online.  It’s the same basic trailer seen earlier today with bits of new footage revealed.  The scenes appear to be skewed toward the Chinese audience as actors Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing are featured.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 opens stateside on May 3rd.  Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.

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.