"The Avengers" hits theaters on May 4, 2012, and Marvel Films is already looking ahead to its next movie, "Iron Man 3." According to Empire Online, Marvel head Kevin Feige said that "Iron Man 3" will take Iron Man back to the same position he was in the first movie -- by himself, without the aid of others. Feige said the solo approach will help rein things back in after the giant team-up format in "The Avengers."
The other information he gave was that "Iron Man 3" will deal with "Iron Man: Extremis," a Warren Ellis-penciled storyline that completely changed how the superhero operates. Here is a look at what you can expect based on the comic book storyline that influences the new movie.
Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain signed on for a role as a rival female scientist to Tony Stark. If the third installment follows Ellis's storyline, Chastain will play Maya Hansen, a former close friend of Tony Stark when the two were getting their starts in the world of technology. The two went their separate directions, Stark working on weapons technology and Hansen seeking to use technology to solve world problems.
Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce is set to portray Aldrich Killian, a scientist working alongside Hansen on a recent project involving something called the Extremis serum. In the comics, Killian is not long for the world, but with an actor like Pearce, there is a chance the filmmakers will combine his character with another in the series for maximum effect.
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is a term known well to fans of the television series "Lost." In the Extremis comic series, the technology can be used to cure serious injuries, among other interesting, wide-ranging uses. This is where Iron Man comes in. While the suit of armor was always tedious to carry along with him, the Extremis storyline allows Stark to use Nanotechnology to almost carry the armor within his own body.
As I said, this series changed everything about Iron Man. It gave him technological powers he never possessed before, as well as making him more powerful and dangerous than ever.
Fitting in With the First "Iron Man"
Interestingly, when Jon Favreau directed the first "Iron Man" movie, he used the origin story created by Warren Ellis in the Extremis storyline. Iron Man's original origin took place in Korea, where he was helping the military test weapons before ending up injured in the hands of the enemy. The Extremis storyline updated it to the war in Afghanistan and used the plot device of Stark learning Al Qaeda was using the weapons that his own company designed.
With new director Shane Black approaching this story from the Extremis angle, it lines up the movie franchise perfectly with the current Iron Man stories in Marvel Comics.
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