Claim: Iron Man 3 is a sequel.

Iron Man 3 -LRB- stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three -RRB- is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It is the sequel to 2008 's Iron Man and 2010 's Iron Man 2 , and the seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce , which uses concepts from the `` Extremis '' story arc by Warren Ellis . The film stars Robert Downey Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow , Don Cheadle , Guy Pearce , Rebecca Hall , Stephanie Szostak , James Badge Dale , Jon Favreau , and Ben Kingsley . In Iron Man 3 , Tony Stark deals with posttraumatic stress disorder caused by the events of The Avengers , while investigating the reemergence of the Ten Rings , led by the mysterious Mandarin and comes into a conflict with an old enemy : Aldrich Killian .   After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010 , Favreau , who served as director , decided not to return , and in February 2011 Black was hired to write and direct the film . Black and Pearce opted to make the script more character-centric and focused on thriller elements . Throughout April and May 2012 , the film 's supporting cast was filled out , with Kingsley , Pearce , and Hall brought in to portray key roles . Filming began on May 23 , and lasted through December 17 , 2012 , primarily at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington , North Carolina . Additional shooting took place at various locations around North Carolina , as well as Florida , China , and Los Angeles . The visual effects were handled by 17 companies , including Scanline VFX , Digital Domain , and Weta Digital . The film was converted to 3D in post-production .   Iron Man 3 premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on April 14 , 2013 . It began its release on April 25 , 2013 , internationally , and debuted in the United States one week later on May 3 . The film received generally positive reviews and was commercially successful , grossing over $ 1.2 billion worldwide , the second highest-grossing film of 2013 overall , and the second-highest-grossing film at the domestic box office released in 2013 . It became the sixteenth film to gross over $ 1 billion and the 5th-highest-grossing film of all time , with its opening weekend ranking as the 6th-highest-grossing opening of all time . The film also received a nomination for Academy Award in the category of Best Visual Effects , and received another nomination for BAFTA Award in the same category .