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Live: 'Iron Man 3' panel at Comic-Con

Click in for our coverage of the super exciting Iron Man 3 panel at Comic-Con, live and direct from San Diego.

Our attention now turns to the day's final panel, Marvel's third instalment in the Iron Man franchise.

Due for release next May, the movie has big expectations to meet following the runaway box office success of The Avengers. Fans will also be wondering if a "standard" Marvel movie can remain as compelling with just one hero at the forefront of the action.

Robert Downey Jr is obviously back in the title role, while Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle are also back as Pepper and Rhodes. The film's main villains are Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin, Iron Man's arch-nemesis from the comic series; and Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, creator of The Extremis Virus.

Note that all times in this blog are Pacific, which is eight hours behind the UK and three behind the East Coast.


6.58pmAnd that's a wrap on this panel. Sadly no Iron Men emerging from the restroom. Thanks so much for joining me today - see you again tomorrow for the final day!

6.54pmTime to see the clips again.

6.53pmWill we see Bruce Banner in Iron Man 3? Feige: "Well if you remember at the end of The Avengers, he jumped in the car with Tony. And Tony dropped him off at the Port Authority and we'll see him again some day."

6.52pmIf he could have his Iron Man suit be any colour, what would it be? Downey Jr: "Does mauve offend anyone?"

6.51pmWe're now singing happy birthday to a 15-year-old.

6.49pmBlack pays tribute to his co-writer Drew Pearce. Downey Jr: "Those were two words. They were both names."

6.46pmWill we go into Stark's alcoholism more? Black: "Robert doesn't fall off the wagon in this movie." Downey Jr: "We always liked it.. you like the idea of him struggling with this, but there isn't enough plot. I think he's got the plug in the jug this time."

6.46pmHe describes working with Downey Jr as a "fucking dream".

6.45pmBlack: "To make it seem like it is the culmination of the trilogy, that was the task. How do you dig in, reach back and touch what was there before? We're actually going back to the roots of this thing, try to dig out the myth of it."

6.44pmHow has Tony Stark changed in Iron Man 3? Downey Jr: "The idea this time is, what is the need for this third picture? How does it tie it together? There's been a wishlist of scenes we've wanted to see."

6.42pmWill he do more Iron Man movies or more Marvel movies? Downey Jr: "Don's and mine's deal runs out after Iron Man 3, then we're going to figure out what we want to continue. The future is uncertain, I'm super happy. This has just been an amazing journey."

6.41pmHow long does it take to get into the suit? Downey Jr: "They keep making them better and better. How long does it take you?" Cheadle: "Half an hour." Downey Jr: Oh mine's about three minutes." Cheadle: "Racism."

6.39pmFavreau: "We've got an interesting dynamic going on. I never got a chance to have fun with the role before. Now I get to play with Robert which I never really got to do. As far as executive producing as far as directing, I feel like a proud grandfather who doesn't have to change the diapers but gets to play with the baby."

6.38pmBlack: "We've got this wonderful actor, Rebecca Hall, she's brilliant. We've got Guy Pearce, James Badge Dale, Ashley Hamilton, Stephanie Showstack... it's a great cast man. We've got all these pieces, all these interlocking parts, it's not like Spider-Man 3 where they're all separate." Sarcastic 'oooh' from the crowd.

6.38pmBlack: "This is the same Iron Man that you liked. We're halfway through, if we don't fuck up the rest then it's gonna be great."

6.37pmHe adds: "Stan Lee wrote a great character, very complex and interesting, so it was just then what we did. You're only as good as your partner over here. The missus hates living with me when I'm playing Tony Stark."

6.36pmHow do you bring Iron Man to life? Downey Jr: "The way you bring a character to life is get cast in the first place. Shane Black directed a movie called Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Marvel wasn't sure about me, John saw Kiss Kiss and in a way, that was kind of my screen test before the screen test."

6.34pmWhat elements of the comic books do they want to see in the movies? Audience member cites a scene where Tony makes Pepper a suit. Feige: "Everyone at this table thinks it would be the coolest thing in the world to see Pepper in a suit." Downey Jr: "We all wanna see Gwyneth kick a little ass."

6.34pmAudience Q&As. Downey jr: "The fact that The Avengers was done at all, with all the franchises, if It came down to one person, it would be Kevin."

6.32pmCheadle: "It's great. We're getting to the end part of the film, the climactic scene, and I've got a lot more to do with Tony. The Tony-Rhodey relationship really opens up."

6.32pmDowney Jr: "We're actually shooting another end scene for Avengers. I think every movie I do is going to be one of the three biggest films of all time, so it's finally happened."

6.32pmFeige: "It's a return to a Tony Stark centric story. The avengers combine for a big event and then return to their own world."

6.31pmBlack: "Sir Ben [Kingsley] is lovely and he's going to be absolutely terrific. He is the Madarin."

6.30pmNot forgetting Jon Favreau! Who starts with a plug for NBC's new series Revolution.

6.29pmOut come director Shane Black and Don Cheadle.

6.26pmThe second was of Iron Man's house being taken down by helicopters then falling into the ocean.

6.24pmClips time. The first was of the Iron Man body parts assembling themselves to Stark very fast.

6.23pmHe's come out to the Luther Vandross track Never Too Much and is wearing Iron Man's hand!!!

6.22pmRobert Downey Jr enters, via the back of the hall, walking through the crowd to the stage. Typical Iron Man entrance.

6.21pmWith that, Wright exits. On to Iron Man 3...

6.20pmWright: "Ant Man will kick your ass, one inch at a time. There is no casting news, although I can reveal that Ant Man has been here all day." He puts out a name card for Ant Man.

6.18pmWow. We've just seen the little test, which is still pretty impressive. Ant Man runs down a corridor and takes out two bouncers, including by running into one of their mouths. He then calmly gets in an elevator.

6.17pm"I did shoot a test yes, this is true. I shot a little test and I genuinely mean little test, to see what he looks like when he's little."

6.16pmHe's brandishing a copy of the Ant Man comic. Wright: "Basically myself and Joe Cornish wrote a script in 2006. We wrote two more drafts last year and it's something we are continuing to work on."

6.16pmOut comes Edgar Wright. Crowd going wild here.

6.15pmThe fourth film is on August 1, 2014... 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

6.14pmCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. Wow.

6.12pmOut comes Feige, who teases future projects. "We're working on about four movies. The first is halfway through production, it's called Iron Man 3. May 3, 2013. Then as we speak, the entire cast is returning, we have one new cast member, Zach Levi. THOR: THE DARK WORLD. Nov 8, 2013

6.12pmWe've just had a trailer showing the history of the Marvel productions, told through Comic-Con panels. It ended with "Phase two begins.... NOW"

6.08pmOooh, the lights are down.

6.08pmThere is extra security presence pacing the halls at this panel. Mark my words: Iron Men invasion.

6.07pmI've now turned into the text equivalent of VH-1's Pop Up Video.

6.07pmAs it stands, Scarlett Johansson is not confirmed for an appearance in Iron Man 3.

6.06pmProducer of Iron Man 3, and every Marvel movie since Iron Man 2, is Kevin Feige, who's appearing at this panel.

6.05pmThis time next year, Iron Man 3 will be old news and we'll no doubt be looking forward to Thor 2 and Captain America 2.

6.02pmThe stage manager is reiterating that no-one should get up during the panel unless it's for a call of nature. I'm now totally believing that we're going to be overrun by Iron Men. Which are of course being assembled in the men's restroom, possibly in the middle of a sea of urine.

6.01pmI'm in need of a good stiff drink when today is over. Currently torn between a nice Chardonnay or a Wet Willie Cocktail.

6.00pmLooking ahead to tomorrow, the final day, I'll have panels for Fringe, Supernatural and Doctor Who. Assuming I get in of course.

5.57pmThe men's restroom here in Hall H has been "on lockdown" for the last 45 minutes and I've heard drilling. This could just be a coincidence, perhaps there's a toilet overflowing with all sorts of defecation, but in my mind they're building Iron Men back there.

5.56pmYou can find my earlier coverage of The Hobbit panel here and Tarantino's Django Unchained panel here.

5.55pmJust a few minutes to go until the final panel of the day now.
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Written by
Neil Wilkes

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