Iron Man, Iron Man 3 | featured news

Robert Downey Jr. has been musing about stepping away from Iron Man and letting other actors take a crack at the character, but if Joss Whedon has any say in the matter, he would rather have Downey play Iron Man forever. "I want him [Downey Jr.] to play it forever," Whedon told Desde Hollywood (via Comingsoon). "The great thing is that he has a flying metal suit. So it's not like those Charles Bronson or Roger Moore movies where you're like 'Dude, you can barely stand.' He's got some fight in him. At the same time, if Robert decides to hang it up, he has a perfectly good excuse."

Up 'til now, Marvel's been focusing on the grimmer aspects of Iron Man 3 -- including the epic whooping that Ol' Shell-Head's going to take from the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). But as the latest clip Marvel's doled out makes clear, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) can give as good as he gets.

Production on "Iron Man 3" is on hold after star Robert Downey Jr. hurt his foot during filming. Marvel Studios said Thursday that Downey was injured while performing a stunt and "there will be a short delay in production while he recuperates." The 47-year-old actor is shooting the third installment in the superhero franchise in North Carolina.

Walt Disney Co. signed a co-production deal with China's DMG Entertainment to produce its next "Iron Man" film in China, highlighting the nation's draw for the global entertainment industry.

Disney announced today that it is buying distribution rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount for $115 million. Paramount will reportedly still earn the 8% and 9% fees it would have received from distributing the films but it won’t have to put in any advertising money or muscle.