The wait is almost over for Shane Black's Iron Man 3, which debuts in the States on Friday, May 3rd.  However, if you're looking ahead to the rest of Marvel's Phase Two slate of films, we've got a few nibbles of information to pique your interest.  Since there's currently no Iron Man 4 on Marvel's lineup, it's looking like Robert Downey Jr.'s next appearance as the armored Avenger will be in Joss Whedon's The Avengers 2.  But who else will be joining him?

Hit the jump for more on Iron Man 3 from Downey Jr., Black, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marvel's Kevin Feige, along with updates on The Avengers 2 and Captain America: The Winter SoldierSpoilers ahead.

First, check out the full image from Entertainment Weekly's new cover, featuring Paltrow and Downey Jr.  Their full write-up on Marvel's Phase Two will be coming soon, but for now we have a few teasers to share with you:

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As for more Phase Two news, let's start with Iron Man 3 itself.  Apparently Black plays rough with Marvel's darling and there may be a few scenes that look to shake up the fanbase.  After filming a particularly controversial scene, Downey Jr. asked Feige:

“What does this mean if we wind up doing an Avengers 2? Kevin looked at me and said, ‘That’s Joss’ problem to solve.’ I was like, ‘Good man.’”

Once Iron Man 3 bows, we won't see Downey Jr. on screen as Stark (probably) until two years to the day!  What the hell happens to him in this movie?  As Black puts it:

“I thought we needed to do something in the third movie to make it feel like a game-changer."

And as you can probably tell from the above image, even Pepper Potts (Paltrow) gets into the armored action this time around:

“It’s sort of the comic-book version of a Cinderella story,” Paltrow says of her character’s four-film arc. “She starts timid and sort of cleaning up after Tony, and then she evolves into full strength and a superhero.”

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Moving forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and some new concept art, which you can see to the right), Feige talked about how Cap is not only a man out of his own time, but is now faced with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s questionable tactics and how they don't fit into an easy moral code:

"We weren't going back to World War II. Cap cannot travel in time. So while Tony can go home to Malibu and Thor goes up to Asgard and Hulk can sort of ride the rails, Cap was stuck. So Cap does stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. because he has nowhere else to go. But he's not necessarily comfortable there. And just as he's given permission to let go of the past and to focus on the modern world, a ghost comes up. With the Greatest Generation in World World II, there's a tendency to reflect on that period and say, 'Things were black and white back then, and now it's hard to know who the bad guys are.' 'We wanted to play on that a little wit Cap being uncomfortable with the way S.H.I.E.L.D., and in particular Nick Fury, operates."

Now, looking ahead to The Avengers 2.  Whedon recently mentioned the possibility of twin superheroes Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver appearing in the sequel.  EW has more to say on that account:

Some online rumors turn out to be true, however. A source confirms to EW that the twin characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be joining The Avengers 2, which Whedon hinted at recently when he said he was writing a brother-sister duo into the movie. Feige maintains a poker face on that scoop, saying only: “I’m not confirming or denying. The draft could change six months from now.”

It's so satisfying to know that we've got two full years of properly-handled superhero films ahead of us.  Even if things do change between now and then, it's reassuring to have a plan of attack in place.  Excelsior!

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