In what is the best Iron Man 3 trailer so far, we see just how badass this film’s going to be.

While Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is suffering from a post The Avengers hangover, a new villain arrives on the scene: The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). Not only does this menancing terrorist plan to show the world he’s not to be messed with, he’s also plotting to take out the only man who can stop him. After attacks on the US and almost losing all he holds dear, Tony snaps out of his funk and with typical Stark swagger expresses his thoughts on what he plans to do about this new nemesis: “No politics here. Just good old fashioned revenge.” And this revenge is a dish best served piping hot and action-packed.

And if all that wasn’t exciting enough, we have some seriously cool new Iron Man armour to look forward to, including one that bears a remarkable resemblance to the ‘Hulkbuster’ armour from the comics – check out the very end of the trailer. Set up for The Avengers 2 perhaps?

Enough talk. Time to enjoy the awesomeness that is the new trailer:

The more I see, the more I feel the franchise is safe in Shane Black‘s hands. This really does look epic. Hope the final showdown lives up to what we’ve seen so far!

How Dr. Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and his Extremis technology fit into the picture remains unclear, although it looks like he’s creating a Universal Soldier-like army – possibly why Stark creates an army of his own (the Iron Legion) and why the Iron Patriot (Don Cheadle) arrives on the scene.

Kingsley impresses as The Mandarin – the perfect casting choice. Despite all that cool, calm control, I wonder if he’ll go all Sexy Beast psycho on us at some point. That would be awesome!

It’s also great to see Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) has more of a role to play.

I’m glad we know little about the characters’ motivations. Finally Hollywood has cottoned on to the idea that you don’t need to give everything away to get people into theatres. Mind you, they are on safe ground. You’d only have to show the logo and this outing would have the masses pounding on cinema doors.

Bring on April 24!

Is this looking good or what?

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man 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 haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Directed by Shane Black, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau, William Salder, Don Cheadle, William Hunt, James Badge Dale and Ashley Hamilton.

Iron Man 3 is due for release in New Zealand on April 24 – one week ahead of both the US!

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