Marvel Reveals New Iron Man Footage and Confirms Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man

Marvel has revealed the details some of its biggest films in the pipeline at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Fans of the Avengers series will have no shortage of films to choose from, with Iron Man 3 on the way along with Thor 2 and another adventure for Captain America.

Other titles officially announced include Edgar Wright's highly anticipated Ant-Man and an adaptation of cult comic Guardians of the Galaxy.

So what can superhero fans expect from Marvel?

The least secret of all of Marvel's films was Iron Man 3, with Robert Downey Jr returning as Tony Stark for another wise-cracking action adventure.

Marvel chose Comic-Con to release the first clip of its latest Iron Man installment, which shows Stark putting on his new armour and reveals Sir Ben Kingsley as the film's villain, The Mandarin.

Set after Avengers Assemble, the first instalment in the Avengers franchise which was released in April, Iron Man 3 sees Downey Jr reunited with director and screenwriter Shane Black, who wrote the original Lethal Weapon and gave Downey one of his best recent scripts with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Iron Man remains the studio's biggest single-character success and judging by the response to teaser footage, this looks like an assured follow-up.

When Marvel began developing the first Thor film back in 2006, the chances of the project stretching to a sequel might have seemed slim. Of all the Avengers characters, Thor was surely the hardest sell; set in a world of archaic gods and medieval language, it had to strike a delicate balance between staying true to source material and appearing ridiculous on screen.

Against the odds, the film was a success, with Chris Hemsworth having the star power to pull off the character, and earn box office receipts of around $450m.

Details are thin on the sequel, although the title suggests not so subtly that the follow-up could have a more morbid tone. Fans hope that this does not mean the knowing humour central to the first film will be lost.

Readers of the Captain America comics will be aware of the significance of the film's title, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier is the name of one of the Captain's most iconic enemies, an evil Soviet assassin who is actually his friend Bucky, thought to have been killed during the Second World War.

It is not yet known how the filmmakers will spin the story, now that the Captain has been transported to the present day to take part in the Avengers initiative.

No details have been released as to whether we can expect to see the characters within the Avengers universe in each other's films, but it would be a spectacular disappointment, not to mention a missed opportunity, should there be no guest appearances.

Just when you thought Marvel did not have any more surprises up its sleeve, it officially announced that it will make a film of the little-known comic Guardians of the Galaxy.

In a brave move for a studio that has generally relied on its most iconic names in order to guarantee cinema box office, Marvel will make a film of an intergalactic superhero group comprising Drax the Destroyer, Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Gamora.

In an interesting development for the Marvel universe, the Guardians have a number of links to Thanos, a character who has been revealed as a potential villain for the second Avengers film.

The character of Gamora is an adopted daughter of Thanos, while Drax is one of his sworn enemies. Perhaps audiences will be introduced to the characters amid a crossover with the Avengers, unless that is simply too many superheroes for one film.

With such an unknown team, led by a super raccoon and featuring a living tree, this film looks like Marvel's biggest challenge yet in its attempt to bridge the comic/cinema gap.

Comic-Con also saw the official confirmation of Ant-Man, directed by Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz creator Edgar Wright.

Ant-Man has been rumoured for some time, with Wright rumored to be working on a film of a character who has the ability to change size at will.

Audiences have been unsure how the character would be treated, as he has great comic potential and a name that does not exactly inspire awe.

Wright silenced the naysayers by revealing early test footage of Ant-Man using his abilities to dispatch two guards.

The film remains a long way off, with no casting announcements made, but Wright's appearance shows that progress on the film is under way.