First official images from Iron Man 3 with Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, and Gwyneth Paltrow have arrived

As we start to get into IRON MAN 3 “season,” seeing that it’s the next Marvel film down the pipe, the powers that be have hit the marketing machine button and we can all rejoice as a result.  Case in point; some new stills.  Some people need moving images to satiate their movie news needs, but others, like myself, can chow down on some pics.  Not literally, but you get the idea.  Anyway, some of the pics come from USA Today, who also chatted with producer Kevin Fiege about the film, which is also the kickoff of Marvel Phase 2.  

“He basically loses all of his toys and is forced to just use his mind to rebuild and to face his biggest enemy,” Feige says, resulting in the most advanced Iron Man suit yet. Now we see he’s invented a technology that allows him to basically have the suit arrive to him anywhere at any time, piece by piece.  And it doesn’t always work at first.”

“He’s ultimately the engineering superhero. He’s so charming and so flamboyant that sometimes you forget that’s what he is: ‘Hey, kids, learn this stuff and you can maybe build an Iron Man suit,’ “ says Fiege.

“While he is a charming guy, it is often hard to root for a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist because they seem to have it all,” Feige says. “In this movie, we are again going to see him stripped down more than we’ve ever seen him since he was in that cave, again with his back against the wall and with nothing but his wits to help him survive.”

“That’s one of the things we love about (Tony). It is not a new girl in every film. Pepper Potts is an incredibly important part of his life and his evolution as a hero. She plays a very big part in this film.”

“Robert is in almost every scene, which, when you have Robert, is not a bad thing,” the producer says. “The goal with Iron Man 3 is to again prove that all of our single heroes are as interesting alone as they are when they’re all together in an Avengers movie.”

Some cool quotes from Fiege that make me feel confident that they’ve steered this ship in the right direction.  The third part of any franchise is a tough nut to crack, but it can be pulled off.  I honestly have no doubt that the creative talent involved in this have it in them to nail it. 

IRON MAN 3 will open in theaters on May 3, 2013. 

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for the first full trailer!