Movies

Sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has unveiled its debut trailer. -- Or, perhaps a more effective opening sentence might have read: "Guess what? There's going to be a Percy Jackson sequel...and here's the trailer."

Indeed, with genre biggies like Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Wolverine looming in the coming summer, this follow-up to the 2010 Greek mythology-inspired coming-of-age adventure, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (yeah, that whole thing was the title) may have sneaked-up on the majority of otherwise closely-following moviegoers. However, despite a somewhat modest performance at the box-office, the $226.5 million worldwide return on a $95 million investment must have been enough to compel 21st Century Fox studio to consider this sequel project (that no one anticipated) as a somewhat safe bet.

The trailer depicts exciting and immediately-accessible family-friendly adventure. However, based on what we're seeing, this film doesn't seem to hearken back too much to the first entry. In fact, I would venture to guess that this sequel is made in such a way where seeing the first film will not be necessary. Such a thing would be telling of Lightning Thief's somewhat forgettable status. (Even if it was a rare film featuring Sean Bean where the actor's character did NOT die. -- Of course, he had to play Zeus to pull that off.)

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters picks catchier titles to tackle Titans at theaters on August 16. Check out the trailer below!

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It is being reported that after the successful weekend of its sophomore effort that the G.I. Joe film franchise will continue soldiering on with a third film.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation certainly did make the most of this past Easter weekend earning $132 million worldwide, outdoing the global opening of the 2009 first film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra by 35%. In the U.S., it would also deliver the second-best performance of that holiday weekend with $41.2 million (only behind the $61.2 million in 2010's Clash of the Titans). Overall, Retaliation looks to be well on track to outdo the $303 million global take of its predecessor.

Whether it was the continually-growing box-office clout of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the presence of Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki's Lady Jaye looking ravishing in that red dress, or just the strength of the franchise itself, the movie managed to find an audience. It's especially impressive considering how fans and insiders had already written the film off as a disaster just waiting to happen. It not only managed to overcome the stigma of a year-long delay for a questionable 3D conversion, but it did so while going into the fray with a director completely new to the action/comic-book/fanboy-centric genre of films in Jon Chu. Indeed, there were many gambles on this film that ultimately paid off in a huge way.

No details have been given about the "whens" or the "whats" (other than the fact it will be in 3D), but there is certainly a wealth of material in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero classic comic book, cartoon, and toy canon from which to draw for a third film. While this film series does not exactly adhere closely to the classics, it could potentially use classic concepts such as: A vengeance-seeking Destro forming his own faction in the Iron Grenadiers. The unruly and destructive biker gang, The Dreadnoks. The eccentrically-evil Crimson Twins, Tomax and Xamot, who like to finish each others' sentences. Or, maybe even Cobra Emperor, Serpentor; a tyrant cloned from a milkshake of DNA taken from the worst despots in the world's history. -- The possibilities are endless.

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Iron Man 3 is getting ready to hit theaters worldwide in the coming months. However, it is being reported that moviegoers in the People's Republic of China will be getting a different version of the movie than everyone else. -- And get this, while the potential for ethically-questionable state-approved censorship is likely, the Chinese version will actually contain bonus footage!

During the genesis of the armored Avenger's third solo outing, an agreement between parties, Disney and Marvel Studios was made with Chinese company, DMG Entertainment to co-distribute the film in their country. The benefits to that relationship, besides new sponsors and promotional access to the largest single national population in the world was some aid towards including "Chinese elements" in the film; a cause that was also helped by some late-addition filming in capital, Beijing last December. Indeed, it does appear that this alternate version of the film will attempt on some level to cater to the (State-approved) sensibilities of Chinese audiences. (I shudder to think what they'll do with Don Cheadle's Iron Patriot.)

However, the changes go beyond just scenery. The Chinese edit of the film will not only feature scenes that are not available in the other worldwide releases, but will also feature ACTORS exclusive to this version, as well. Most notably among the additions, is a role for Chinese starlet, Fin Fang Foom...err, Michael Bisping...sorry, Fan Bingbing. Interestingly enough, the gorgeous actress already has her Marvel Comics dance card punched over at Fox with a role in next year's X-Men: Days of Future Past.

It's certainly not the first time that "adjustments" were made on the part of Hollywood to cater to the demands of the ever-growing Chinese film market. The most notable recent example of this was the remake of Red Dawn, whose depiction of the Chinese as enemy invaders ignited controversy, forcing a long post-production effort to recontextualize the antagonists into the North Koreans. Also, (and this is just pure speculation,) the fact that Ben Kingsley's role of Iron Man 3 villain, The Mandarin, who is traditionally of Chinese ethnicity was altered to be more ambiguous may not be such a coincidence, after all.

Iron Man 3 (OUR patriotic, baseball, bald eagles, and apple pie version of it, anyway) hits theaters on May 3. At this point, no date has been announced for the altered Chinese release.

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We've known for quite some time that this summer's Superman reboot, Man of Steel would focus on star, Henry Cavill's antagonistic tanglings with Michael Shannon's escaped Kryptonian war criminal, General Zod. However, after a choice revelation from actor, Mackenzie Gray, a rumor has now been ignited concerning the character considered Superman's most iconic rival, Lex Luthor.

Fans of the long-running Superman TV series, Smallville may recall that Gray played a cloned version of Supes' follicularly-challenged foe in a 2010 episode of the show. (Whose real version was played by fan fave, Michael Rosenbaum.) It was a brief, but memorable appearance, which seemed especially relevant to a recent interview in which Gray confirms that he has a role in the upcoming Man of Steel movie; a fact that he would also reiterate that he had permission to reveal as long as he omitted any details.

However, a small tidbit of those details may have emerged from the sleuths over at Aint It Cool News, whose anonymous insider close to the film disclosed that the still-unnamed role by Gray will be "substantial." Thus, Gray, who already possess a passing connection to Lex Luthor, has become the center of the latest round of rumors speculating that the avaricious, evil industrialist will, in fact, be in the film. If true, then Gray would be joining Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey in the prestigious club of actors who have played Luthor on the big screen.

Check out the interview in which Gray confirms his Man of Steel role just below!

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In a move that may not be the biggest of surprises, the Tomb Raider film franchise will be the next to receive the reboot treatment. According to Variety, MGM studio has acquired the film rights to adapt a new rendition with the alluring archeologist, Lara Croft, who was last portrayed on the big screen by Angelina Jolie in two films in 2001 and 2003 that collectively grossed $432 million worldwide.

Gary Barber, head of the recently-resurgent MGM studio who are still counting the money from recent James Bond mega-hit, Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, made the Croftastic announcement and also revealed that producer, Graham King would be bringing his production company, GK Films on board to develop the project.

According to Barber:

“Graham is one of the premier producers in this industry and I am delighted to be working with him on this exciting franchise. We look forward to developing more projects together in the future.”

With the once-stale Tomb Raider video game series getting a much-needed makeover with a younger, survivalist-centric version of Lara in the recent reboot game, it seemed inevitable that Hollywood would come back and strike while the brown-eyed beauty's iron was once again hot. As surreal as it may seem, we are one whole decade removed from the 2003 sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, the second and last film in which Angelina Jolie donned that tank-top and those oh-so-tight short-shorts to play the character. Certainly, there have been reboot efforts that hit with much closer proximity to their predecessors. **cough**The Amazing Spider-Man***cough**

At the moment, no timetables were revealed for the film's release. However, given that the first entry in the relaunched video game franchise has only just hit, one might conclude that a heralded new film may seek the benefit of the still-new video game's sequel as the proper tent-pole for its arrival. So, it may be a few years before this hits theaters.

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It appears that next year's sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will be featuring some monkey love. (And you won't even have to wait patiently and creepily at the zoo to see it.) It is being reported that actress, Judy Greer will don a motion capture suit to play Cornelia, the amorous ape love interest of Andy Serkis' returning chimp chieftain, Caesar.

Greer actually brings a resume of TV and film appearances that is quite vast. Known for her roles in Three Kings, The Descendants, an array of romcoms, and her run on Arrested Development, she is currently a regular on Two and a Half Men and is also the voice of Cheryl Tunt on Archer. She now takes this role of Cornelia, which was likely inspired by the ape character, Dr. Cornelius, famously played by Roddy McDowall in the original Planet of the Apes film. Monkey couple, Cornelia and Caesar (Caenelia?) will run parallel to the lead human couple comprised of Keri Russell and Jason Clarke.

Cornelia actually appeared briefly in the previous film, 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes played by dancer, Devyn Dalton. Now, with the role expanded, the experience for Greer will actually fulfill a dream...well, that of her husband, who she muses is "obsessed" with Planet of the Apes and is a collector of various Apes-related nicknacks. She further reveals in the report that the obsession even manifested in the form of a chimp husband and wife cake topper at their wedding.

Greer joins the ever-growing cast of this primate prequel-sequel (minus previous stars, James Franco and Freida Pinto) that features the great Gary Oldman, Terry Notary, Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as the aforementioned Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Andy Serkis.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gets busy in the ape apocalypse when it hits theaters on May 23, 2014.

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A new restricted international trailer for Kick-Ass 2 has arrived that shifts focus from Aaron Taylor-Johnson's titular green-spandex-sporter to Chloë Grace Moretz's Hit-Girl as the fledgling femme-fatale gives the old college try...of adjusting to life in high school.

Otherwise known as Mindy Macready, she was raised from birth by her vigilante father, Damon (played by Nicolas Cage in the first film) to follow in his criminal-killing footsteps. Mindy's brief attempt to live a normal life, going to school and trying out for the cheerleading squad seems to leave her flat on the count of it not including activities allowing her reap the blood of the wicked with extreme prejudice. (Which is way more exciting than glee club.) If this school happens to have any "mean girls," then it's only a matter of time before one of them makes the horrific mistake of telling her that a black cape makes her look fat and may soon be adding "reconstructive plastic surgery" to their lists of activities.

The film's overall plot, which was covered sufficiently in the debut trailer, is also revisited, showing Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl's recruitment into a group of journeyman vigilantes lead by Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars and Stripes, as well as Christopher Mintz-Plasse's revenge-seeking Chris D'Amico recruiting an evil team of his own, while becoming the world's first legitimate supervillain called The Motherf**ker.

Kick-Ass 2 redefines the meaning of "school spirit" with indiscriminately violent shots to the genitals of both genders when it hits theaters on August 16. Check out the new trailer (which, again, is restricted and full of naughty words), accompanied by a new Hit-Girl character poster. It's all just below!

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The upcoming fourth film in the Transformers franchise now has a confirmed female lead. Director, Michael Bay has confirmed via his Twitter, that actress, Nicola Peltz has landed a coveted lead spot in the robot rampage romp.

Peltz, who appeared in the notorious The Last Airbender, can be currently seen on the new A&E Psycho prequel TV series, Bates Motel as the romantic interest of the young man destined to don drag and deal death in a shower. She will now follow a sacred tradition upheld by Megan Fox and Rosie Huntington-Whitely of being the film's resident "babe" amongst Bay's monolithic metamorphic anthropomorphs. (Which is a lot more fun to say than simply "Transformers.") It is speculated that she will play the daughter of Mark Wahlberg's main character, while playing romantically opposite to a character from newcomer, Jack Reynor.

The news probably delivered a satisfying moment for news site, Twitch, who back in December actually reported that Peltz, along with Aussie actor, Brenton Thwaites would be the fourquel's featured young couple, only to be debunked. It turns out there was some veracity to their report. (Well 50% of it, anyway.) Now, the wild young coed who's trying to tame the creepy young Norman Bates will tangle with a different kind of loose cannon: GIANT ROBOTS WHO BLOW S**T UP.

At the moment, practically nothing is known about the film's plot (despite a recent widely-publicized false report), however, with the clock ticking closer towards the film's projected release date, you can bet those details won't be left a mystery for too long.

Transformers 4 (title not yet confirmed) uses Burger King-sponsored Decepticons to squash the Bates Motel in slow-motion when it hits theaters on June 27, 2014.

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It's here, folks! The Wolverine has finally released a full-length proper trailer...and it seems to be a merciless montage of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine getting his ass kicked.

My fellow fans, our long national nightmare is over. Indeed, the time for teasers, tweasers, and cheesers have passed and the adamantium-aligned assbeater's excursion to The Land of the Rising Sun comes into comprehensible view. Our pal, Logan has clearly been drowning sorrows over lost loves in Canadian taverns while getting into fights with drunken rabble dressed as lumberjacks, when the mysterious she-ninja, Yukio (Rila Fukushima) appears. The fearsome femme forces him to turn the other cheek (which at the moment had chunks of some idiot's glass stuck in it) and whisks the mournful mutant over to Japan where a man whose life Logan saved many years ago during The War has a proposition he may be interested in taking. While there, an old flame of his, Mariko (Tao Okamoto) reaches out for help with a dilemma containing connections to his own issues that may not be coincidental.

While we've seen Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in four previous films as the grizzled claw-swinging super-mutant who decimates with reckless abandon, this trailer seems to make clear that he'll be playing the role of the proverbial pin cushion quite a bit in this film. Sure, Logan's holding his own, but the numbers in this battle are clearly lopsided as Logan, with the occasional help of Yukio, tangles with hoards of ninjas, Yakuza-esque gun-toting gangsters, The Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee), the vengeful Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), and his most formidable foe yet, A HIGH SPEED TRAIN.

The Wolverine tries for some reason to uninstall one of the most awesome physical specs of all time when it hits theaters on July 26. Check out the debut trailer in both international and domestic forms below...NOW!

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The newly-announced remake of Escape from New York may already have its candidates for main character, Snake Plissken down to two. According to a report from The New York Daily News, either Tom Hardy or Jason Statham could stand to inherit the cycloptic, badass mantel of the role made famous in the 1981 original film by Kurt Russell.

Hardy, who had recent breakout turns in Inception, Warrior, and proved he could be somewhat funny in action-romcom, This Means War, would give a career-defining performance as Bane in last summer's The Dark Knight Rises, making him a household name. While a go as the new Snake Plissken would undoubtedly build upon an already-impressive resume, Hardy also happens to be gearing up for the release of his starring role in the reinvention of another 1980's post-apocalyptic franchise in next year's Mad Max: Fury Road. Thus, for him, he may be wary of potential remake overkill.

In Statham, we have an actor who, with a signature cockney accent, has carved out quite a niche as the headliner for a steady stream of action flicks over the years, notably with The Transporter series, The Expendables series, and in the upcoming Fast & Furious 6. He's certainly one of the more capable action protagonists, but his landing the role may depend on whether he can emulate the kind of grizzled, smart-alecky, "why the hell am I even here?" demeanor that could be neccessary for the new Snake to be, well, Snake.

At the moment, nothing is confirmed, as the NYDN report was based off unnamed sources. In fact, the names of Gerard Butler and Jeremy Renner were previously in the mix at one point in time, and for all we know, may still be in the running. It's a fact that led to comments from the duo who put together classics like the original Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China: John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. In an interview published today with Empire, the duo reunited for a reflection on the aforementioned great trilogy of 80's genre films and also made comments on the search for the new Snake that might prove germane to this report, given that two Brits were named as candidates for the role.

Check out what they had to say on the matter below!

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The Wolverine continues its week of revelations and reapings with a second brief teaser trailer leading up to tomorrow's grand unveiling of the film's full debut trailer. Plus, the film has unloaded its second and third impressive motion posters depicting Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in full torrential irateness.

The new video comes just a day after director, James Mangold unveiled an epic 6 second montage of footage from the film, which even revealed an X-Men alum cameo by Famke Janssen's Jean Grey. However, it seems that in the promotional melee, even Mangold himself got a bit confused about the rollout strategy for the various teasers for the trailer. It turns out the formal teaser for the trailer would come by way of a new 20 second video today, released exclusive to MTV.

Unlike the video released yesterday, this one is more thematically focused, as we see Wolverine sustaining a gunshot that to anyone else, would be fatal. The future for this cheapshot artist dressed as a monk, is certainly bleak, as he also seems to make off with Wolverine's damsel, Mariko. (Tao Okamoto.) The wound just serves to demonstrate what Wolverine seems to lament at this point in his life: The virtual immortality afforded to him by his mutant healing factor. Indeed, it's been hinted throughout the last year that this film would explore the depths of Wolverine's soul like never before as his fear of losing the ones he loves comes into focus when the former love of his life, Mariko calls him to Japan for help.

Yet, despite all the monstrous mutant pathos in this teaser for the trailer, it looks like Rila Fukushima's role as mysterious she-ninja, Yukio may very well have stolen the show with her badassness and cute-ish freakiness. Regardless, the aperitif has now been consumed and the main course of a trailer is set to hit our dinner tables tomorrow.

The Wolverine brushes-off gutshots with an angry sneer when it hits theaters on July 26. Check out the new teaser and the motion posters below!

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It seems that Marvel's Phase Two follow-up, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has procured yet another addition to its rogues gallery. According to a report from Latino Review, UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges "Rush" St-Pierre has been cast in the super-soldier sequel as classic villain, Batroc the Leaper.

At the moment, details on the context of the role are not available, but if the report proves true, St-Pierre's Batroc would be joining Sebastian Stan as the unfrozen brainwashed Bucky Barnes, now the titular Winter Soldier, Frank Grillo as Crossbones, and Toby Jones as the returning (now possibly cyborg) former Nazi scientist, Arnim Zola on the list of formidable foes with whom Chris Evans' Captain America will have to contend.

In the comics, Batroc, whose full name, coincidentally, is Georges Batroc, is a highly-trained former member of the French Foreign Legion, who became a mercenary, lending his services to the scummier elements of the world, including the sinister organization, HYDRA. While Batroc possesses no superhuman powers, his highly-conditioned state has made him more than a match athletically for rivals like Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and even Deadpool. While he's the kind of guy that will sign up for anything seedy that will line his pockets, he still carries a sense of honor as a warrior and his relationship with Cap has been one that's underlined with a level of respect.

St-Pierre, who is just over a week removed from a dominant decision win over Nick Diaz, settling a contentious rivalry full of public smack talk, has long been considered an ambassador for the UFC organization and the sport of MMA as a whole. He would be joining a small, but growing list of MMA competitors who have recently made the leap (no pun intended) to the big screen like Randy "The Natural" Couture in The Expendables movies (and that horrible straight-to-DVD Scorpion King prequel), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracus in the underrated reboot film of The A-Team, and most notably, former female fighter, Gina Carano, who beautifully owned the lead role in the sleeper hit, Haywire, with more high profile projects in the works.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier goes for a double-leg takedown to deliver vicious ground-and-pound to evil at theaters on April 4, 2014.

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It looks as if the new big screen version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have their titular team assembled. Duel katana-cutter and all-around good Samaritan, Leonardo will be played Pete Ploszek, nunchucking Jeff Spicoli-speaking "party dude," Michelangelo will be played by Noel Fisher, and the tech-savvy bo-staff-swinger, Donatello will be played by Jeremy Howard. 

This rounding out of primary protagonists for the live-action reboot comes just a few days after the announcement that Blue Mountain State and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire star, Alan Ritchson would be playing the sai-sporting wiseguy of the group, Raphael. Now, "the world's most fearsome fighting team" are ready to tackle whatever villainous forces that creative minds like producer, Michael Bay and director, Jonathan Liebesman have on deck. -- Even if they're planning to make the foursome into aliens for this movie.

Pete Ploszek, who plays team leader, Leonardo, will, ironically enough, be coming in with the slimmest resume of the bunch, with one-time appearances on Parks and Recreation and Shameless being his only major roles. On the other hand, Noel Fisher, who plays the capricious and sometimes naive Michelangelo is a face that will likely be recognized by most people for something from his vast resume of TV appearances (he also had a run on Shameless), as well as his recent film roles on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2 and in director, Liebesman's Battle Los Angeles. Jeremy Howard playing the geeky reptilian, Donatello may also trigger some recognition from his various "nerdy" roles like in college romp, Accepted, on TV with Breaking Bad, and as one of Justin Long's quasi-Trekkie buddies in the cult classic, Galaxy Quest.

Now, this trio, along with Alan Ritchson, join the newly-reconciled princess of the Michael Bay universe, Megan Fox for this ambitious and highly-touted tent-pole project, which has apparently nabbed a $125 million budget commitment.

Ninja Turtles (title not yet confirmed) picks out the tightest banana-yellow jumpsuits for Megan Fox to wear as April O'Neil when it hits theaters on June 6, 2014.

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At long last, ACTUAL FOOTAGE from this summer's X-Man solo sequel, The Wolverine has finally surfaced!

As some may recall, last week, director, James Mangold tweeted that before the first teaser trailer hits on March 27, he will release what he referred to as a "Tweaser" for the trailer one day beforehand. Well, Mangold decided to pump even more anticipation by releasing on a whim, a 6-second teaser for the 20-second Tweaser that he'll release tomorrow. (The eve of the actual trailer's release.) Indeed, as we stand just two days before the imminent release of the long-awaited debut trailer, Mangold has unleashed this stunning six-second montage of footage showing what appears to be an unadulterated onslaught of awesome.

Ninjas, Viper, The Silver Samurai, even more ninjas, explosions, and JEAN GREY...oh my! This "teaser-Tweaser" has certainly done enough to whet the appetites of fans who have been anxiously awaiting a trailer of some kind for what seems like ages. While the two whole days until it drops may seem like an eternity, its appears that fans, thanks to Entertainment Weekly, also have an impressive assortment of new images to accompany the new footage, for the first time showing the film's other characters in the context of the film itself.

...Still not enough Wolverine to get you through the day? Lucky for you, two new rage-rocking posters have also hit. Indeed, there's so much Wolverine hype today, you'll wish you had Logan's mutant healing factor, just so you can go and absorb it again.

The teaser for the Tweaser! The awesome new images! The new posters! A cavalcade of adamantium-cut coolness awaits you just below! The Wolverine "tweases" evil with his claws at theaters on July 26.

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As the release of Iron Man 3, the Armored Avenger's long-awaited solo sequel looms ever closer, a barrage of TV spots, both domestic and international have unleashed a salvo of new footage on the web akin to a full-on assault from Tony Stark's Iron Army.

While still playing the film's cards close to its proverbial chest, the new spots do manage to shed some light on the overwhelming and highly personal war of attrition between Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin; a rivalry that seems to be causing a great deal of damage to the onlooking world that may even rival that whole "Norse God leading armies of aliens into New York" incident last year. Perhaps coining yet another memorably quotable phrase, the malevolent mastermind, Mandarin nefariously utters "you'll never see me coming," as we are treated to more footage of his sadistic plot to not only wreak havoc on the world, but put Tony and the one he loves through a crushing crucible of vindictive punishment.

However, Mandarin may not want to celebrate by buying a fancy new collection of green robes just yet. Confirming rumors, it seems that Tony's love in question, Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts will have some (possibly spoileriffic) tricks up her sleeve before it's all said and done. She isn't about to sit back and let some loathsome, bizarre hybrid of Osama Bin Laden, Jim Morrison, and The Dalai Lama dictate what happens to her man. -- He'll never see THIS coming, I assure you.

Iron Man 3 gets ready to serve up a different kind of girl power without the help of busty black-leather-clad redheads when it hits theaters on May 3. Check below for a few of these (potentially spoileriffic) new spots.

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