Iron Man 3 is a 2013 American superhero film directed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. It is the eighth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the sequel to Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). Shane Black directed the picture from a script he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, and it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley as Tony Stark / Iron Man. During a national terrorism campaign on the United States directed by the enigmatic Mandarin in Iron Man 3, Tony Stark wrestles with the repercussions of the events of The Avengers.