Blockbuster comic book franchise, Iron Man 3, has added an additional U.S. release date. The film, directed by Shane Black and produced by John Favreau, is set to hit IMAX theaters on April 25, over a week before it’s set to hit 2D and 3D screens nationwide on May 3rd.
In this third installment of the film, the titular character played by Robert Downey Jr. will take on his arch nemesis, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). The villain's superpowers, which range from ice/fire/electro blasts to disintegration, stem from 10 power rings which adorn each of his fingers. In the comic book, the character is originally of British and Chinese descent and is supposed to be a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. However, the role was given to Kingsley who is British born and of Indian descent.
According to Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, via EW.com, the film version of The Mandarin is “less about his specific ethnicity than the symbol of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end.”
The film, which was shot mostly in North Carolina and partially in Miami, FL, is the first of the individual superhero films to be released since The Avengers summer 2012 box office domination. The Avengers featured Iron Man in an collaborative role with 5 other superheros and was the first film to gross $200 million dollars domestically in its first three days and set a U.S. box office record for garnering $400 million dollars in 14 days. The other superheros in the series, Thor and Captain America, are set to release their individual films in the following two years. Thor: The Dark World will have its U.S. debut on November 30, 2013 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens on April 24, 2014. The second Avengers movie is schedule to release on May 1, 2015.
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