With The Avengers debuting in theaters in just a few weeks, Marvel is looking ahead to its future projects, including the upcoming Iron Man 3.

Disney subsidiary Marvel announced that the metallic Avenger's next stand alone adventure will be co-produced by Chinese company DMG Entertainment.


Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, will begin filming this year, Walt Disney and its Chinese partner DMG Entertainment said. They said DMG will jointly produce the movie in China but gave no indication what parts might be filmed in this country.

"We know Chinese audiences love Iron Man. So we are going to add Chinese elements and a Chinese story into Iron Man 3," Disney's general manager for Greater China, Stanley Cheung, said at a news conference.

DMG Entertainment will be investing at least 1 billion yuan ($158 million) into the production of the film and its distribution in China. While the partnership is not the only deal between the U.S. and China, with films such as 2010’s The Karate Kid produced with Chinese involvement, the Iron Man 3 deal will mark “the first multibillion dollar franchise to be produced between Hollywood and China,” says DMG chief executive officer Dan Mintz. Chinese elements will be added to the film to accomodate the partnership, and Disney has said that portions of the film produced in China will involve both DMG and Marvel Studios’ production and creative teams.

Iron Man 3 will likely debut in theaters on the 3rd May 3 2013.