Marvel officially confirms The Mandarin for Iron Man 3; & Extremis as well

As for Iron Man, ever since Ben Kingsley was cast as a villain in Iron Man 3, it was obvious (despite denials from Marvel) that he would be playing the Mandarin. Now, Marvel has officially confirmed that it is indeed The Mandarin. The recently released video clip at the San Diego Comic Con has also revealed that Iron Man's new suit can be summoned through force of will, which does indeed follow the Extremis Armor storyline in the comics. Happy Hogan (played by Iron Man's former director Jon Favreau) will also be playing a larger role in this movie. Iron Man 3 opens May 3, 2013.

Marvel's recent announcements during this year's San Diego Comic-Con has been the grand tidal wave of the convention. Marvel has made revelations about their upcoming movies. At the Iron Man 3 panel, producer Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, and director Shane Black were present. A video clip was released and revealed several scenes such as Stark putting on the Iron Man suit by will, an action scene involving the destruction of Tony's Malibu home, The Mandarin putting on one of ten rings, among many other scenes, in a teaser/trailer clip. Of course, this electrified the audience in attendance.
In the Q & A, Downey said that it really was producer Kevin Feige who was really behind the making of The Avengers. Jon Favreau who was the director of Iron Man 1 & 2, proudly expresses his confidence in the new new director Shane Black (who is best known for movies such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and more specifically, he was the writer who was responsible for such classics such as the Lethal Weapon series).

It is also revealed that Downey's contract ends in Iron Man 3. It's not yet sure whether he'll be around for part 4. This was an issue that had been discussed by several websites before, and it's possible that Marvel may take the James Bond approach and hire someone new for the role, after 3.

IRON MAN 3 is scheduled for official release on MAY 3, 2013