Now that his work on Iron Man 3 is done, and the film is setting box office records, writer/director Shane Black is already moving on to his next project – a big screen adaptation of the pulp hero Doc Savage. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Sony Pictures has closed a deal with Black to co-write and direct the film based on the classic pulp hero.

Black had been previously working on his Doc Savage script in 2009 with producers Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur, but put the project on hold when he was offered the job of writing and directing Iron Man 3.

A brilliant master of all trades, Clark “Doc” Savage, Jr. trotted the globe investigating all sorts of scientific mysteries and helping people in distress with the help of his five friends- “Monk” Mayfair, “Ham” Brooks, “Renny” Renwick, “Long Tom” Roberts and “Johnny” Littlejohn. The character first appeared in his eponymously -named pulp magazine in March 1933 and quickly became one of the most popular pulp heroes of the 1930s and 40s, rivaling only The Shadow in sales. Although created by Street and Smith Publications publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic, it was the series’ main writer, Lester Dent, who fully fleshed out the background and adventures of Doc and his aides. The series proved so popular that it spawned a comic book series from Street & Smith and two short-lived radio series.

Doc Savage continued to be popular even after his pulp series ceased publication in the summer of 1949. In the 1960s, Bantam Books began reprinting the original pulp novels in new, slightly edited, paperback editions. It took to the summer of 1990 to reprint the entire series.

The popularity of the reprint series inspired producer George Pal to produce a Doc Savage film, released in 1975, starring Ron Ely. Although the casting of Doc and his five aides captured the look of the characters, the movie’s campy tone disappointed fans and kept audiences away.

Additional, National Public Radio produced a new 13 episode radio series in 1985. Doc also reappeared in new four-color adventures at various times from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse and Millennium between the 1970s and 90s. In 2007, Doc’s creator Dent became a hero in Paul Malmont’s novel The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, teaming with Shadow creator Walter Gibson to stop a plot to destroy New York City.

It’s nice to see Sony taking a chance on this project, and I say that not just as a fan of the old pulp series. Given that John Carter turned out to be a financial disappointment for Disney I would expect studios to be skittish over moving forward on any similarly-themed property. But I guess that early box office returns for Iron Man 3 are enough to make them overlook

Iron Man 3 is definitely a Shane Black movie. But it’s really not much of an Iron Man movie.

The story begins with a broken Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who is still reeling from the events of The Avengers. He hasn’t been getting much sleep and when he is awake, he suffers from the occasional panic attack whenever New York is mentioned. The last thing Tony needs is any more stress. However, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) doesn’t really care about Tony Stark’s stress levels. The international terrorist has been attacking American interests across the world with bombs that are highly destructive yet leave no evidence behind.

When Tony’s bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is caught in one of the Mandarin’s blasts, Tony decides to make it personal. But the Mandarin doesn’t take threats lightly. It soon becomes a race against time as Tony must find the Mandarin before the terrorist’s genetically enhanced army take away everything Tony holds dear.

That synopsis barely scratches the surface of the convoluted plot , which spans 13 years, involves old flames, secret formula’s that give you superpowers, dramatic transformations and a number of people who turn out to not be what we thought they were. Unfortunately, one of those people is Tony Stark. He bares a superficial resemblance to his appearances the other films of the franchise. He actually bares a closer resemblance to Nancy Drew.

This might be a spoiler that the studio doesn’t want you to know: Tony Stark spends a lot of time out of the Iron Man armor, more than in any other installment. Well, I didn’t have a stopwatch, so I can’t verify that statement, but it seems like it.  There is a valid reason for it–the Mark 42 armor is a bit glitchy and doesn’t bounce back quite as quickly as other Marks. But still…

While he is out of the armor, he turns into “Tony Stark, Billionaire Amateur Playboy Detective of the Appalachians.” Even though he has not shown any aptitude for it in any other movies, Tony is able to develop leads, follow them to Tennessee and then Miami, breaking in to TV trucks and palatial estates as needed to get what he needs. And even though he is established as a rather big celebrity, he does all of this investigating without ever once being recognized. It’s like magic.

I just didn’t buy it. I mean, Tony Stark shares a lot of qualities with Bruce Wayne, but being a master detective is not one of them. The whole thing does not flow naturally from what Tony’s characterization in the franchise up to this point. It appears manufactured to either act as a cheap way to advance the plot or to allow Shane Black room to work in the crime genre he is more comfortable with.

The side effect of all this, for me at least, was that it took me out of the film and all of the film’s plot holes, and there are a lot of them, became all the more noticeable. The villain’s motivation seems to change from scene to scene. Is he after revenge? World domination? Money? A mix of the three? All of the above? One from column A, one from column C?

That’s just one example. There are a lot more I could list, but that would fall into heavy spoiler category. But the main crux of a lot of these other plot holes is the way Black and co-screenwriter Drew Pierce present us with complex solutions to the characters’ problems when it is obvious there was an easier way to get the same results. Instead of going directly from A to Z, they meander all over the alphabet, throw in a couple of numbers, and eventually get to Z 15 to 20 minutes later than they should.

This is a shame because there are a lot of good moments, no, wait, strike that, a lot of GREAT moments in the film. The way the Mandarin is presented might infuriate the die-hard fans, but I thought it was a unique take on the character. And by this point we all know that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) ends up in a suit of armor, but the way she does is a nice touch. Pepper Potts has a chance to play not only the damsel in distress but also the hero in the film, which is a refreshing change.

And the cast is superb. In addition to the actors I already mentioned, there are especially strong performances from Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce and Rebecca Hall. Too bad they weren’t in a tighter script that fit in better with the franchise as a whole.

If you were able to sit through the early part of the Super Bowl, the part where it looked like it might be a blow out, you probably ended up seeing a really good game.If you sat through the game just to see the Iron Man 3 ad you might have been…well…disappointed. After all, the ad was only a longer version of a scene that was in the first trailers, with a tag imploring you to go online to see more.

Well, we did and this is what we saw. And just in case you didn’t see the same things, let us point out what the ad told us.

The extended trailer begins with Tony Stark walking with purpose towards the camera.

He does his best David Caruso impersonation.

Then comes off with “That might be more of an extensive than extended look” Your milage on the pun may vary, but it serves its purpose. The earlier trailers were criticized for being almost too serious, at least in comparison to the earlier films. This bit  which I’d bet money doesn’t appear in the film, shows that there will be a humorous streak to the film as well.

Then we go into the extended trailer, which might give us more clues as to the plot. Of course, these are only guesses. Most likely, we will be wrong.

We once again see Iron Man landing in the snow, beaten and battered. But now we get to see what might have caused him to be in this condition…

…the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley)…

…clenches his fist…

…and things explode. The decor looks almost Middle Eastern or Asian, perhaps it is the Mandarin’s headquarters? Or maybe someplace else in his sphere of influence?

Whatever the location, it appears the explosion was done for a reason…

…to catch Tony in the blast. And it seems to have worked because…

He’s a bloody mess. We then revisit the attack on Tony’s mountainside home. And this also shows us something we might have missed before.

Here’s the attack.

Tony and Pepper might have had a second or two of a warning. Then boom.

See that woman on the left? Could that be Rebecca Hall as Dr. Maya Hansen? She is rumored to be part of a love triangle with Pepper for Tony’s affections and her presence here could make for a tense scene before an even more tense scene.

And what’s the deal with the bunny in the background?

If that was Hansen, it looks like she has a chance of escaping the attack unscathed. Not so likely for Pepper and Tony.

And definitely not for Tony’s armors.

Back to the snow scene. As the armor releases Tony…

He, in a voice over, speaks on apologies he has to make and apologizes for putting someone in harm’s way. Is he talking to…

…Happy Hogan, who is alive in this scene, if somewhat worse for wear…

…James Rhodes, definitively wearing the Iron Patriot armor, who looks grim…

…his paramour Pepper Potts, who once again seems to be in some sort of device and in pain (is the device causing the pain, or trying to fix it?)…

…or Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), whose role in the film, be it good or bad, is up for debate?

Tony vows to find out who did this…

…while the Mandarin brags that they’ll never see him coming.

One more clenched fist, this time pounded against a table, then on Air Force One…

…a hole explodes in the side of the plane, sucking people out.

Tony flies out of the hole to begin his rescue mission. Why was he on Air Force One? Is he being offered the position of Secretary of Defense by the president, a position he held in the comics? Was he there for some other reason? Could he have even caused the fuselage breach?

“How many in the air, Jarvis?” “Thirteen, sir.” “How many can I carry?” “Four.”

“Oooh, boy.”

We see that Air force One has suffered a further explosion and has disintegrated, removing that as an option to hold the passengers.

Tony and his fellow passengers attempt to form a human chain in the air. Will this allow him to save all thirteen? Hopefully so, but probably not.

Still no look at any of the footage shot on location in China and no hint if Radioactive Man will be in the film. No look at James Badge Dale’s character and if it will be Coldblood. But we do see that the Mandarin seems to definitely be behind Tony’s problems. More information should come before May 3rd, when all will be revealed.

Even a cursory glance at the Iron Man 3 trailer released today shows that things are not going to be good for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) this time around. But a deeper look reveals that many of the possible story elements are indeed happening in the threequel. Let’s dig in -

The trailer opens with the image of falling snow, reminiscent of the Christmas-time setting of writer/director Shane Black’s last collaboration with Downey, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Also note that the ARC reactor on Tony’s armor’s chest piece seems to be blinking on and off.

This is the same shot of Stark confronting the media that we saw in the trailer teaser over the weekend. I have a feeling that this takes place after the big set piece at the end of the trailer.

“Nothing’s been the same since New York.” An obvious reference to The Avengers. At once an indication that Tony might be suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress and also a nod to the changes in regard to his relationship with his armor we are about to see.

“I’ve experienced things and then they were over.” Here we see Tony gaining some telepathic control over his armor, one of the elements from the Extremis storyline that have been appropriated for the film. This opens a number of questions about what we see throughout the rest of the trailer.

“I can’t sleep.” Tony’s bedroom. Note the armor pieces scattered on the floor in the foreground. I have a feeling that this is actually after another moment in the trailer coming up.

Don Cheadle is back as Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes and here he looks a bit concerned.

“And when I do, I have nightmares.” Am I the only one who looks at the silhouettes on the wall and am reminded of similar silhouettes left behind by the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I would hazard a guess that they may be victims of the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).

Some helicopters whose mission will become apparent in the last part of the trailer.

“Honestly, there are a hundred people who want to kill me.” Is Guy Pierce as geneticist Aldrich Killian one of them?

“I hope I can protect the one thing that I can’t live without.” A rather naked, emotional statement from Tony to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Iron Man armor seemingly attacking Pepper while she and Tony are asleep. But is there someone in the armor or is it operating on its own somehow? Now that we have seen that Tony can animate his armor by apparent telepathy, perhaps this is a side-effect of the nightmares Tony mentioned he is having.

The destruction of Tony’s past Iron Man armors. The beginning of the Mandarin’s systematic destruction of Tony’s ability to fight back.

A minor reveal of the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). And what’s with the Captain America shield tattoo on the back of his neck? A joke that Marvel placed in there for the trailer? Perhaps it has some connection to Tony’s father, Howard, who created the shield for Cap back during World War 2?

“Ladies…” In this case Rebecca Hall as scientist Maya Hansen, who co-designed the Extremis virus in the comics.

It looks like Rhodey’s armor has gotten a paint job, probably at the request of the military’s PR department. It looks similar to the livery of another Iron Man comics character Iron Patriot. Perhaps he’s gotten a name change from War Machine to Iron Patriot in the name of PR friendliness as well?

“Children… Sheep.” The Mandarin certainly has a inflated opinion of himself in regards to other people, doesn’t he?

I know, I know. After we saw Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) drive off with Tony at the end of The Avengers as if they are best buds, there has been speculation as to whether he will show up in the Iron Man 3. Well, despite the fact that this barefoot leg with torn pants does resemble the look we generally see Banner in post-Hulk transformation, I don’t see this as an indication that he is.

While things are looking bad for Tony in this trailer, they aren’t looking much better for his chauffeur/body guard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau).

So maybe Killian doesn’t want to kill Tony, he just wants to steal his girl.

Tony getting ready to undergo an operation. But the question is are they going to be putting something into his body or taking something out?

This next sequence revolves around an attack on a jetliner (rumored to be Air Force One). We see that it is obviously someone in an Iron Man armor ripping a hole in the side of the plane through which some passengers are sucked out. However, since we see Iron Man show up and rescue the falling people, I have to think that the armored arm we see here could be under someone else’s control.

Probably not intentional, but this shot of Iron Man grabbing someone in mid-air echoes how the Hulk caught a falling Iron Man towards the end of The Avengers.

Pepper’s turn to not have things go well, probably as a captive of the Mandarin.

I think that this is from the aftermath of the attack that we see at the end of the trailer. This is Pepper holding the Mark IV armor helmet.

The Mandarin’s hands, adorned with an array of rings. Whether or not they are weapons as they are portrayed in the comics remains to be seen, but this does confirm that the Mandarin is the head of the Ten Rings terrorist organization who have played a part in the last two Iron Man films.

Tony versus Iron Man? Again we have to ask if there is someone else in the suit or is Tony controlling it telepathically?

It looks like War Machine/Rhodey is mad with someone.

The Iron Man armor emerging through smoke. Is Tony inside? I think this is actually a shot from the attack we are about to see.

The Mandarin with a gun. Don’t think that this is proof that his rings aren’t the weapons we see in the comics just because he has a gun here. You’ll note that he does not have any rings on in the photo.

The start of the attack on Tony’s Malibu cliff-side home.

“Lesson number one… Heroes. There is no such thing.”

And our first real look at the Mandarin.

Tony and Pepper are hurled back by the blast. But what is the fate of the poor stuffed animal over by the stairs?

It appears as if Tony is able to get to his armor…

…But it might be too late as the house slides into the ocean.

Note how the music is lost to the underwater sounds as Tony is pulled down and has chunks of debris settle on top of him. Nice touch.

The flickering out of the ARC reactor calls back to the first scene in the trailer and also adds a sense of dread.

A second callback to the opening shot in the trailer, this time with Tony pulling along his armor behind him in the snow.

Iron Man 3 opens May 3, 2013.

As promised, today sees the release of the first trailer for Iron Man 3. If Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) thought that life after the Battle of New York was going to be all shawarma and cuddling with his girl friend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), it looks like he has another thing coming.

The official plot blurb for the film fills out some of what we see here –

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?

Iron Man 3 opens May 3.

Thanks to casting news, we have been able to piece together some details that writer/director Shane Black has in store for next summer’s Iron Man 3. There were enough clues to confirm that the film’s story will in part be based off of the Extremis storyline from the comics. But if you were thinking that there were more clues to be gained from Marvel Studios’ first official synopsis of the film, think again. The PR flack piece promises thrills and excitement but very pointedly skimps on the specifics.

Take a read -

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?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of Tales of Suspense (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with The Invincible Iron Man (#1) in May of 1968.

Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Note how the synopsis refuses to name Stark’s enemy as comics villain The Mandarin, even though we all know that is the role Sir Ben Kingsley has been cast in?

Still, even in its vague state, it does confirm a few things. The “When Stark finds his personal world destroyed” line refers to the rumored destruction of Stark’s Malibu cliff-side home which we’ve seen in the first two films, while the phrase “does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man” seems to be a reference to the nanotechnology from the Extremis comics.

We should get more on an idea of Iron Man 3‘s story when the film’s trailer debuts next week. The film hits theaters on May 3, 2013.

With a little more than a week’s worth of shooting under its belt in North Carolina, there has already been a few paparazzi photos leaked from the Iron Man 3 set. In what might be an effort to combat that, Marvel Strudios has released the first official behind-the-scenes photo from the production, and while it is a far cry better than the first one they released for The Avengers, it is not terribly overwhelming, unless you consider it a spoiler that Tony Stark’s workshop will still look pretty much the same as we in the previous two Iron Man films.

Click on the picture for a much bigger look.

The picture’s release was accompanied with the following press release -

Following in the footsteps of the record-breaking Marvel Studios release Marvel’s The Avengers, production on the highly anticipated film Iron Man 3, directed by Shane Black, has commenced in Wilmington, North Carolina. The production schedule will also include locations in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; Miami, Florida; and China.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, Iron Man 3 returns Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Marvel’s The Avengers) as the iconic super hero character Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2) as James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) as Happy Hogan. Set for release in the U.S. on May 3, 2013, Marvel’s Iron Man 3 marks the second feature to be fully owned, marketed and distributed by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009.

Iron Man 3 continues the epic, big-screen adventures of the world?s favorite billionaire inventor/super hero, Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. Executive producers on the project include Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard and Dan Mintz.

The creative production team on the film includes two-time Oscar-winning director of photography John Toll, ASC (Braveheart, Legends of the Fall), production designer Bill Brzeski (The Hangover, Due Date), editors Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E. (Marvel’s The Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger) and Peter S. Elliot (Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer), and costume designer Louise Frogley (Quantum of Solace, Contagion).

Marvel Studios most recently produced the critically acclaimed Marvel’s The Avengers, which set the all-time, domestic three-day weekend box office record at $207.4 million. The film, which is currently in release, continues to shatter box office records and is The Walt Disney Studios’ highest-grossing global and domestic release of all time and marks the studios’ fifth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

The Prestige actress Rebecca Hall has been added to the cast of the just-about-ready-to-shoot Iron Man 3. Variety is reporting that the actress is negotiations with Marvel Studios for the role of “a scientist who plays a role in the creation of a nanotechnology known as Extremis, that winds up being sold to terrorists.”

The news comes just a few days after actress Jessica Chastain took to her Facebook page to announce that the announcement of her involvement with the picture in that role was premature and that scheduling conflicts would prevent her from taking part in the film.

Shane Black will be directing the threqueel which is scheduled for a May 3, 2013 release. Of course Iron Man franchise stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle are all set to return.

Tree Of Life actress Jessica Chastain looks to be the latest addition to the Iron Man 3 cast with Deadline reporting that she is currently in negotiations to join the project which is scheduled to begin shooting next month in North Carolina.

Chastain is being reported as playing a “sexy scientists,” which leads me to believe that the character will be Dr. Maya Hansen, a major player in the Iron Man comic book miniseries Extremis which it appears the threequel’s script is at least partly based on. Last week, Guy Pearce was announced as playing geneticist Aldrich Killian, another character from the Extremis story. In the comic Killian and Hansen are developers of nanotechnology weapons for the military. When their company’s funding is cut off, they arrange for the tech to be stolen by terrorists in the hope that a confrontation between the terrorists and Iron Man would prove that their work was worth continuing.

Chastain had originally been offered the role a while back buy initially turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with two other possible projects. Reportedly, Marvel Studios began scheduling meetings with Diane Kruger, Gemma Arterton and Isla Fisher, but Chastain’s calendar managed to clear itself so they jumped at the chance to have her in the film.

Written and directed by Shane Black (and co-written by Drew Pearce), Iron Man 3 also stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Ben Kingsley. It is set for release on May 3, 2013.

Guy Pearce will be reporting for duty next month when Iron Man 3 goes into production. The Prometheus star has been cast in the threequel as geneticist Aldrich Killian.

The use of the character of Killian is another indicator that the source material for the film’s story will be the six-issue Iron Man comic book mini-series Extremis written by Warren Ellis. In that story, Killian is one of the developers of nanotechnology weapons for the military. When their company’s funding is cut off, they arrange for the tech to be stolen by terrorists in that hope that a confrontation between the terrorists and Iron Man would prove that their work was worth continuing.

Pearce is joining Ben Kingsley who was recently announced as being in talks to appear as a villain as newcomers to the franchise. They will be joining the returning Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/ Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as Lt. Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

With production scheduled to start next month in North Carolina under the direction of Shane Black, Iron Man 3 is scheduled for release May 3, 2013