Director Shane Black talks Iron Man 3

Screenwriter-turned-director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout) was at the Long Beach Comic Con this past weekened, where he took part in a Q&A about his plans for the upcoming Marvel sequel Iron Man 3, which will see him reunite with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang star Robert Downey Jr. for Tony Stark's third solo adventure. Black - who takes over the series from Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau - spoke about his brief involvement with the development of the 2008 original, his thoughts on the underwhelming sequel and the process by which he was recruited for the third movie. Meanwhile, the director confirmed the return of cast members Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle and also had some interesting comments about potential bad guys, describing the Mandarin as a "racist caricature" and stating that "Iron Man never really had good villains".

In addition to the Q&A, Black also took part in an interview with ComicBookResources, where he elaborated on his plans for the Golden Avenger, ruling out an adaptation of the acclaimed Demon in a Bottle comic book story storyline and explaining how he intends to approach the film: "I think it would be a return to the type of action movie I remember so fondly, which is less random carnage and more thriller -- less action, more suspense. More character-driven urgency that makes you want to find out what happens to the guy, not what happens to the building behind the guy. There's a certain retro vibe that I love which is the idea of taking modern technology and shot-making and even color palettes and injecting them with this sense of thriller-esque, 1970s stuff that makes it seem more edgy and accessible as opposed to just loud and obnoxious. That's kind of where I'm heading."

Robert Downey Jr. will next be seen as Iron Man in 2012 alongside fellow superheroes Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Joss Whedon's epic team-up The Avengers, while Iron Man 3 is currently scheduled for release in May 2012.