Kevin Feige says Pepper Potts is at the heart of Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 may boast a pair of dastardly villains in the form of Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley, but according to Kevin Feige, the most significant player in the third film will be love interest Pepper Potts.

Potts has played something of a supporting role in the last two films, but according to Feige, she’ll be far more at the heart of things third time out.

“The love triangle in this movie is really between Tony, Pepper and the suits,” explains Feige. “Tony, Pepper and his obsession with those suits, and the obsession with technology. And, it’s sort of unique for a big superhero summer blockbuster franchise to have those kind of layers.

“Yes, there’s a bad guy,” he continues. “Yes, the stakes are very, very high - the President of the United States is in danger. Air Force One is attacked. There are big stakes to this movie.

“But the real stakes are, is Tony going to be able to set aside the obsession to spend all day, every day in that workshop, tinkering with the suits in order to focus on, as he says in the trailer, the one thing that matters most - Pepper. And that actually is what the entire movie’s about.”

Directed by Shane Black and co-starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, Iron Man 3 will open in the UK on 25 April 2013.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.