This just in, fresh from Wilmington, NC (a short drive from your humble narrator's desk) comes this snapshot from the filming of Iron Man 3.

Comic book fans will recognize this as the Iron Patriot, a bastardized version of Stark's armor developed by Norman Osborn. Of course that will not be relevant in the Iron Man movie, but I do think that it will be related to Detroit Steel, a competitor to Stark Industries built by the family of Iron Man's former foe, Justin Hammer.

While not a spot-on recreation of the comic book version (seen below), it is close enough and does build on the legacy of the first two films as Tony struggles to divorce himself from the family business of arms manufacturing.

I highly doubt that we will see Sam Rockwell in the third movie, I guess we cannot rule it out.

From ComingSoon.net:

The armor is being worn by James Badge Dale, who plays Eric Savin in the feature film. First announced earlier this month, Savin becomes, in the comic books, the cyborg villain Coldbood. At this point it is unknown whether or not we'll see the actor in multiple costumes or if Coldblood and Iron Patriot are being merged into one character.

Additionally, here's an image of Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin from ComicsAlliance:

Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin

Here's what we can CONFIRM as true (and not from some guy working security on an off-lot shoot): The Mandarin (as played by Ben Kingsley) is a villain in the 'Iron Man 3,' but he's more a veiled threat as a silent partner to Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian. Killian is the man inventing Extremis and putting it into his "Extremis army" of multiple super-powered individuals.

Warren Ellis has previously confirmed that Iron Man 3 will be drawing from the 'Extremis' storyline he and Adi Granov created for the relaunch of the comic series in 2004. The possible insertion of the Mandarin as a behind-the-scenes villain would imply the movie will be using the comic storyline as a jumping-off point, especially if Pearce's Killian will be portrayed as the movie's central villain as opposed to the more sympathetic character he appeared in the Ellis/Granov story.

Hinted as the next supervillain in line after the first film, the Mandarin is one of the most well known Iron Man rogues. A power-mad megalomaniac armed with ten rings capable of anything from force beams to heat rays and more, the Mandarin is convinced that his destiny is to rule the world.

If all of this is true and the image below is not photo-shopped, it is a far cry from the 'smaller' film that Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. are interested in making. That said, as this is likely the final solo Iron Man feature project, what a high note to go out on!

Iron Man 3 is scheduled for a May 3rd 2013 release.

More as it comes...