Future Film News: Shane Black Confirmed to Write 'Iron Man 3,' Drops Some Plot Hints

A while back, we reported on rumors that Shane Black, who wrote "Lethal Weapon," would be on board for "Iron Man 3" in some capacity: it seemed clear that he would direct, but no one was sure whether or not he would write the script.

Marvel has finally confirmed that Black will be penning the screenplay for the third installment in the superhero trilogy, and he has a few details about the plot for us already!

"Iron Man 3 will not be another 'two men in iron suits fighting each other' film," said Black during a panel at the Omaha Film Festival.

"Instead, it will be more like a Tom Clancy-thriller, with Iron Man fighting real world villains."

Apparently, Marvel was unhappy with how "Iron Man 2" turned out, and thought it was a little to robot-fight-heavy. Personally, I thought the time spent tying in the upcoming "Avengers" movie detracted from "Iron Man 2" much more than the fighting did. I say, the more robot suit fights you can put in, the better.

Another interesting note that Black dropped during the talk: "'Iron Man 3' will be made after 'The Avengers' and will not feature any other heroes from the Marvel Universe...once that film is released, the plan is to go back to self-contained single-character stories."

With Black on to write and direct, we should get a good product. We know that Black can write action and comedy well thanks to his resumé, and since he and Robert Downey Jr. have worked together before, they should have a good rapport going.