Guy Pearce has been cast in the upcoming Shane Black helmed Iron Man 3 as geneticist Aldrich Killian. Killian was a main character in the Warren Ellis-penned limited series Iron Man: Extremis, which seems to confirm that will provide the basis of much of the story of Iron Man 3.
Extremis was a storyline (spoilers ahead– from the comics, which we can assume will inspire the story but not necessarily follow exactly) wherein a Stark Industries nanotech/biotech team led by Killian develop a nano-tech based virus, which then ends up infecting a man named Mallen, nearly killing him, but then giving him powers that outmatch Iron Man. After nearly being killed by Mallen and having his armor destroyed in the fight, Tony Stark also undergoes the Extremis process to, essentially, make the suit a part of him on the cellular level using nanotech.
Which makes a lot of sense. An evolution lesson: In the original Iron Man we saw the original suit, the Mark II, and the final Mark III suit. Then in Iron Man 2, an updated Mark VI armor, the Mark V suitcase armor, and then the triangle Mark VI… which (minor spoiler alert) gets kind of messed up from fighting different people in Avengers. And when he dons the Mark VII armor during the final battle. . .it is one of the BEST moments of Avengers. I mean, people stood up and cheered during the screening I was in. Stood up. And cheered.
And when you see how the Mark VII armor is deployed, you’ll see why Extremis is the next logical step. There’s also some talk in Avengers about how ever since Captain America, everyone has been chasing the secret of the super soldier serum– Extremis is an experiment similar to this.
And now for something personally exciting for me. While the Variety story is also reporting that principle filming will take place in North Carolina, the original Extremis storyline takes place in Austin and Bastrop Texas. Speculation: we’ll get some filming out here in my neck of the woods, too. Why? Well, in the Extremis story, a major fight between Iron Man and Mallen takes place along Texas Highway 71 (a major road between Austin and Houston, which runs through Bastrop). Highway 71? Also the road used in Zombieland.
So maybe this is all wishful thinking on my part. To pick some random place in America where it would be likely for a major tech company to have a research facility, it makes as much sense for it to be in Austin as it does in the research triangle of Raleigh-Durham. . . but if they say it’s Texas and they film it on some road in North Carolina. . .I’ll know the difference. But, come on, how much cooler would it be if Tony Stark was partying at SXSW Interactive with the rest of us? Or walked into some roadhouse outside of Bastrop all beat up, but still wearing his jet-boots, and the patrons in their cowboy boots are all like “nice boots” and he’s like “give me your strongest whiskey. . . ” A boy can dream, right?
Until we find out more about Iron Man 3, please continue anticipating Avengers, and MAKE MINE MARVEL!