Someone is getting the jump on Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in this concept art for Iron Man 3, which currently is shooting in Wilmington, N.C. The image was shared with Entertainment Weekly, which says posters made from this shot will be handed out to fans at San Diego Comic-Con beginning next week. But we have it for you below. Check it out:
Artist Ryan Meinerding is behind the piece, which shows Stark about to possibly do battle with … well, we don’t know yet. The men with machine guns aren’t wearing uniforms we recognize from the Iron Man word yet. And Tony’s only partially in costume, which suggests he’s in a section of his headquarters, where he’d have access to one of the many new suits we’re rumored to see in the upcoming sequel.
But why is the piece of armor on his arm smoking? Is it malfunctioning? Are we going to see a potential new delivery method for the Iron Man armor, similar to the suitcase suit in Iron Man 2 or the remote-controlled, body-fitting suit Stark unveiled in The Avengers?
No clue. At least, not yet. It is interesting how Downey Jr. simply is Stark at this point. I hardly remember what the character looked like in the pages of the various Iron Man titles prior to the actor being introduced as cinema’s modern Stark. They are forever joined at this point.
And Stark might forever be joined to his armor in Shane Black’s sequel. As we’re learned, Iron Man 3 will follow the Extremis storyline, where Stark injects himself with a serum that bonds his signature armor to his body. That could be what we’re seeing here. We’ll no doubt hear a lot more about Iron Man 3 when Marvel hosts its Comic-Con panel next Saturday. We’ll report back everything we hear. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the concept art?
