When Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially kicked off in July at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios delivered a one-two marketing punch for their next film Iron Man 3. Not only did they unveil the first footage from the film live at the panel featuring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and more, they also fully displayed the latest armor on the show floor for all to see.
Many were quick to dub this next in the line of Iron Man suits The Mark VIII after seeing seven different versions of the armor over three features. However now, new information suggests that the latest suit will actually have a much higher model number and the reason why is due to a large action scene in the climax.
Always on the pulse of the Marvel Universe, the ever-reliable Da7e over at Latino-Review revealed today that the mostly gold-plated armor that will be seen in Iron Man 3 won’t be given the moniker The Mark VIII, but rather The Mark XLVII. For those of you unclear, that means we jump from Mark 8 to 47!
But why the drastic change? Da7e explains (SPOILERS FOLLOW):
“The Extremis-enhanced bad guys under direction of Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin villain are going to be too much for Tony to handle on his own, so he thinks ahead, thinks big and has a plan. Tony’s about to go out and fight some bad guys when he mentions the Mark XLVII to Pepper Potts. Pepper asks what happened to the other forty and Tony just smiles.
From the cockpit of Mark XLVII Tony is able to control multiple armors in battle. We over here at LR have been vaguely aware of an action scene where Tony was going to control multiple Iron Man suits (presumably they look similar to distract his enemies as to the location of kill-able Iron Man Prime), but the number 40 seems…awesome. 40 Iron Men”.
This is just one of multiple large set pieces described so far, as reports have surfaced of multiple of The Mandarin’s men actually pushing Tony Stark’s cliff side home into the waters below while it’s also said that Iron Man will be flying worldwide as filming in China will include a shot of the hero soaring over The Great Wall.
Furthermore, these are the first details that have surfaced regarding the film’s climax. Director Shane Black revealed back at Comic-Con that they pushed most of the major stunt work into the final act of production, which has been put on hold recently thanks to actor Robert Downey Jr. receiving an ankle injury on set. As to exactly what is in store and how it ties into the overall story is unclear, but the idea of multiple Iron Men attacking The Mandarin and his men in one large battle is certainly an interesting concept.
Co-starring Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau and more, Iron Man 3 is scheduled to hit on May 3rd, 2013.
