The rumors, it seems, are true.  At this point, Marvel Studios plans to include Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver – mutants both – in The Avengers 2.

Says who?  No less a source than writer-director Joss Whedon, who offered up a bit of insight on the pair of characters and their role in the sequel's story.  Oh, and Whedon, for one, is a whole lot less concerned about the cinematic future of Tony Stark than many, many fans.

This Friday, May 3rd, Marvel Studios cuts the ribbon on Phase 2 with the nationwide release of Iron Man 3.

Hard to believe that it was just five years ago (almost to the day) that Tony Stark first declared "I am Iron Man."  That first film in this series marked the kick-off to Marvel's shared universe of cross-pollinating franchises, and last year's The Avengers represented the culmination of Phase 1.

When last we saw Stark, he was enjoying shawarma with his fellow superheroes after saving New York from alien invasion and nuclear devastation.  In Iron Man 3, though, Tony's been unmoored by his Avengers experience, obsessed with improving his armor to defend from the next inevitable threat.  When that threat arrives in the form of Iron Man's comic book archnemesis the Mandarin, it's worse than Tony could have imagined, and our hero must battle this unprecedented foe while also defending against a dangerous and powerful new technology.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his starring role as genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark, joined once again by Gwyneth Paltrow as the love of his life Pepper Potts and Don Cheadle in his second turn as Tony's best friend/fellow superhero James "Rhodey" Rhodes.  These franchise fixtures star alongside new additions Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin and Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, a fellow tech-titan with eyes on Pepper and plans for a new innovation called Extremis.

IAR Managing Editor Jami Philbrick was present at the Iron Man 3 press day in Los Angeles.  Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, and Guy Pearce were on hand to discuss the sequel's relationship to The Avengers, some big character arcs, bringing Mandarin to the screen, improvisation, suiting up as big-time superheroes, green screen, new director Shane Black, and Tony Stark's cinematic future.

 A week from now, most of y'all will probably have seen Iron Man 3 in its entirety, but for now, you're going to have to content yourself with quick official snippets. 

Luckily, there's no shortage of those.  The latest finds Iron Man attempting to save more than a dozen innocent people as the plummet from the sky.

Just about one week until Tony Stark straps on his red and gold armor again, and Marvel has unveiled a third official clip from Iron Man 3.

It's a brief dialogue-driven moment without and visual pyrotechnics or arch-nemeses, but it's hugely important for Tony's character, and demonstrates that he was listening to Cap's admonishment in The Avengers.

"Relax, I'm Iron Man," says Robert Downey Jr. with his usual laconic cool in the latest TV spot for Iron Man 3.

A new promotional featurette for the sequel, however, suggests that Tony Stark has plenty to worry about in his fourth theatrical adventure.  Namely, the remarkably powerful and dangerous Extremis technology that has fallen into the hands of Tony's archnemsis The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).

Iron Man 3 already has no fewer than nine posters.  So how about rounding it off to an even ten?

If you were watching the MTV Movie Awards tonight, then you got a 42-second taste of Iron Man 3.

Synopsis: Brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man goes up against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

The first clip from Iron Man 3 presumably comes from a point in the sequel before Tony Stark's giant mansion gets rocket-blasted into the Pacific Ocean.

Hey everybody, we've got a bumper crop of goodies from Marvel Studios' Phase 2.

These run from a featurette snippet focused on the first post-The Avengers effort, Iron Man 3, to a quartet of revealing pieces of concept art, and news on where The Avengers will actually shoot.