'Iron Man 3' News: Pepper Potts Iron Man Suit Rumors, Director Shane Black Reveals More About Ben Kingsley's 'Mandarin' Villain

The latest "Iron Man 3" news and rumors actually don't involve Robert Downey Jr. and Tony Stark. The latest news is surrounding Stark's leading lady played by Gwyneth Paltrow and the villain behind the third installment in the comic-book movie franchise. Will Pepper Potts be wearing armor in the third film? Also, there is a little bit more light shed on The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley.

As the March 3 opening of "Iron Man 3" gets closer, fans are starting to learn more about the plot of the third movie. In a recent interview with About.com Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reveals a little more about Gwyneth Paltrow's character. The Marvel Studios President says:

"In this movie [Iron Man 3] we play with the convention of the damsel in distress. We are bored by the damsel in distress. But, sometimes we need our hero to be desperate enough in fighting for something other than just his own life. So, there is fun to be had with 'Is Pepper in danger or is Pepper the savior?' over the course of this movie."

Although Feige far from confirms Potts suiting up in "Iron Man 3," the theory has been rumored among movie and comic book fans for some time now. Feige does hint towards it in his interview with About.com.

"In the comic books she does get a taste for the suit and becomes her own hero named Rescue, who doesn't necessarily battle other people, but is on missions to help people and to save people. Will we do that down the line with Gwyneth Paltrow? Who knows. But her being in the suit is something we have been playing with since 'Iron Man 2,' where we did some designs and it didn't end up fitting in that movie."

Feige, along with "Iron Man 3" director Shane Black also shed some light on the film's villain, The Mandarin. In an interview posted on Marvel.com recently Feige explained that The Mandarin, "is recognizable and frightening and fearful in a very sort of ripped-from-the-headlines, Osama Bin Laden sort of way."

Black goes on to describe The Mandarin character a little bit more in the interview. "He represents every terrorist in a way, but he specifically has crafted himself in the manner of the Mandarin, of the warlord, and I think that's great because you get to do the comic book [version of the villain], but yet you don't have to deal with the specifics of the Fu Man Chu stereotyping."

By the looks of the trailer, The Mandarin definitely seems like a pretty bad (in a good way) villain. It also would be pretty cool to see Pepper Potts suit up in the "Iron Man" armor. Keep checking Mstarz for the latest "Iron Man 3" news and rumors leading up to its spring release.