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.

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"Fresh" seems to be talking point on the upcoming sequel.  Director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) reiterated Feige's point by explaining to the West Australian:

"We're not aiming for bigger, necessarily. We're aiming for different and fresh and new. It's all about capturing that lightning-in-a-bottle feel, about trying to get as much into this as we can. We're looking to get a ton of thrills into a short space, to make a nice little stew for you."

Mmmm….stew.

Robert Downey Jr. also spoke about the new direction for the series by saying,

"You can dissect why [The Avengers] was the right movie with the right people and the right director at the time. But we feel the same way about Iron Man 3 now."

That's a good way of putting it.  I'd much rather see Black do his own thing rather than simply emulate Jon Favreau or Joss Whedon.  Especially after Iron Man 2, I think audiences want to see a different kind of movie rather than a retread.  With Downey Jr., it's impossible to throw out the Tony Stark we've come to know and love, but it's good to present new challenges to the character and get a "fresh" result.

For more on Iron Man 3, here's Feige talking about how Iron Man 3 connects to The Avengers, the challenges in bringing the Mandarin to the screen, Iron Patriot, and what really happened with Robert Downey Jr.’s on-set injury.

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Here's the official synopsis for Iron Man 3:

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

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