The President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, often has a lot to say about his company’s films. In fact, we even get thrown a few bones from him as if he was our loving master in the form of juicy tidbits about upcoming projects. Today’s menu features Shane Black’s ‘Iron Man 3’ and what we will and won’t see in the new adventure of the Armored Avenger.

According to Collider, Feige declared, “No more Avengers!” Scarlet Witch style in regards to ‘IM3.’

“[It] doesn’t feature any of the other Avengers, or Nick Fury showing up, or any of those world-blending conceits that the Phase One films had. You have to keep in mind that ‘Iron Man 3’ had been in the works for almost a year, year and a half before ‘The Avengers’ was released. We’re sticking to the vision for these films, and showing once again that these characters are just as interesting alone as they are together.”

That’s not to say that his new found teammates haven’t left their mark on Tony however. According to /Film, the exec reveals the changes in the billionaire playboy philanthropist:

“By the end of Avengers, when a portal is opened up in Manhattan and he’s met Thor and The Hulk and the Chitauri are coming down on him. He realizes that he doesn’t know everything; we think that has had an effect on his psyche, and then his world is blown out from underneath him.

It’s not a serious movie, but we seriously dig into exploring more of Tony. The trick is just trying to make great movies. We try to make them all great, all different and all fresh. What you’ll see in ‘Iron Man 3’ is some very unique directions that were taken.”

One such direction is the inclusion of the Iron Patriot armor. Originally thought among internet fanboys to be a version of the villainous armored ego of Norman Osborn, we now know that War Machine/Colonel James Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle, will don the stars and stripes studded armor. But why? Kevin Feige has an answer for us:

“The notion in the movie is that a red, white and blue suit is a bold statement, and it’s meant to be. With Rhodey, he’s very much the foil to Tony’s eccentricities, and in this one you get to see this and be reminded of the trust and friendship between them in that great Shane Black buddy-cop fashion.”

Finally, there’s Iron Man’s archrival The Mandarin, who will be brought to life by Sir Ben Kingsley. The exec mentions that the foe was to be featured in the first Iron Man movie, but things just didn’t work out. Though it’s been a rocky road for the Master of the Ten Rings to find his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s about to arrive and here’s what Feige has to say about it:

“Early – and very late – drafts of Iron Man 1 featured The Mandarin as a villain. The Mandarin is his most famous foe in the comics mainly because he’s been around the longest. If you look, there’s not necessarily a definitive Mandarin storyline in the comics. So it was really about having an idea. In terms of the Fu Manchu stereotyping that was involved, we never had any interest in that. He’s relentless. Assuming that he’s the one responsible for what happens to Tony’s house, no other villain has been able to strike that fast and that hard at one of our heroes. He’s very much about believing that the world needs to learn, and he wants to bend the world to his vision.”

That’s a lot of treats for us to drool over for now, but what kind of tastes do they leave in your mouth? Share your thoughts about ‘Iron Man 3’ after having read these latest developments in the comments section below!

‘Iron Man 3’ starring Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Guy Pearce opens on May 3, 2013.