With Earth's Mightiest Heroes emerging victorious over Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man and Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises in the 2012 superhero box office battle, Disney and Marvel Studios have now got the ball rolling on 'Phase Two' of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of the first official trailer for next year's solo sequel Iron Man 3.Based on the 'Extremis' comic book arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, Iron Man 3 sees Robert Downey Jr. returning as Tony Stark under new director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Drew Pearce (Godzilla). RDJ is joined in the cast by fellow Marvel veterans Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (James 'Rhodey' Rhodes) and Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), while new additions include Ben Kingsley (Hugo) as The Mandarin, Guy Pearce (Prometheus) as Aldrich Killian, James Badge Dale (The Lone Ranger) as Eric Savin / Coldblood, Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) as Jack Taggert / Firepower and Rebecca Hall (The Town) as Maya Hansen.
Here's the official synopsis, followed by the trailer below:
"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?"
Iron Man 3 opens in the UK on April 26th, 2013 ahead of a North American release on May 3rd.
