Iron Man 3 is still a ways off. There is plenty of time to put together a good movie before it's release. I think Shane Black And RDJ have a hnadle on Tony Stark. But I think that adding a few new things into the mix will really help to make this installment stand out in a great way.
Many people on this site are speculating that the Mandarin will be showing up in this film. And I think that would be quite awesome. The reason for this is that many people think that Iron Man 3 is going to be an answer to Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy. In the same way, that Nolan is believed to be bringing back The League of Shadows in TDKR to tie the story back it's roots in Batman Begins, Shane Black should try and tie Iron Man 3 back to the first Iron Man film. And what better way to do so than to focus some attention on The 10 Rings terrorist orginization with the Mandarin and his 10 actual rings as their leader. Not only would this tie the story back to the first film, it would also help to serve the Tom Clancy direction that Black wants to go in. Also I should mention that if 10 rings filled with elemental powers is too much to handle, then let me remind you that Iron Man exists in a world where gods walk the Earth, a man is thawed out of iced having not aged a bit for years, and another fellow turns big and green when he gets mad. If thats still too much, then I have yet another idea. What if Mandarin's rings are built with Stark technology to replicate the powers we have seen him weild in the comics.
Another way to tie the events back to the first movie would be to focus on Eziekel Stane, the son of Obadiah. He's another villain who would fit very well into a Tom Clancy like story since he sell weapons to terrorists and is a domestic terrorist himself. Plus the idea a villain integrating technology into his body would be a welcome change from Whiplash and Iron Monger, and it would force Tony Stark to rethink his armor just as he did in the Extremis storyline. In fact, I think that Iron Man 3 should be a mix of Extremis and the 5 Nightmares storylines. My only suggestion is not to have Mallen in the story, but to have Eziekel be mixed with a bit. Don't get me wrong, Mallen was a great villain in Extremis but a guy with superpowers walking around in plain clothes would not exite people in a movie. And if Mallen is in the film, he should be dealt with rather quickly. Also, please dont have the Ezeikel's purpose in the film be avenging his father's death. This is really such a played out idea, and I dont think that anyone wants to see a retread of Harry Osborn trying to kill Spider-Man because of Norman Osborn's death. Instead keep Eziekel as he was in the comics, believing himself to be superior to his father, and just wanting to take down Tony Stark. He's also currently in the employ of the Mandarin in the comics and this realtionship would be cool to see on the big screen.
Finally, another big change would have to be the armor. Iron Man 2 tweaked the suit a bit, but not enough to make it feel fresh, which is why I'm going to say to stay away from the Extremis armor because it would look to similar to what has come in the first 2 movies. That being said, If Extremis is going to partially influence Iron Man 3, then a change in Tony's armor is going to be needed just like it was in the comics. The suits I'm reccomending are the Ultimate and Resilient suits. The part solid armour with rest of the Resilent armor taking on a malleable look would be welcome change. It would also serve a similar purpose that the Extremis armor did in that it would be bound to Tony's body. In the comics, the armor is stored within the hollows of Tony's bones and he can summon it ny thought. If thats too much handle, apply my reasoning for why the rings of the Mandarin can work. But if Black wants a more realistic approach, he can have Tony build a malleable undersheath that would generate the rest of the armor around it. Either way the point is to have Tony's armor being more flexible and less cumbersome. And for the fun of it, I would love to see the Ultimate armor. It's big and bulky but still flexible and would be something fun and different to watch Tony fly around in. I hope both of these make it in there.
Now moving on to Deadpool, I was rather suprised to hear Laura Schuler Donner, who in my opinion has been instrumental in the destruction of the X-Men movies claiming that the film would probably be R rated. I always knew this would be a reboot, and that Deadpool would have scars and would wear a mask and costume, but I was surprised none the less. Of course, you all know my feelings, and you know I would love to see this back at Marvel, but it seems like on this rare occasion, FOX is trying to do the right thing. Donner said Ryan Reynold is still involved too, so it seems like the studio is being patient with him. Maybe, they can be even more patient with him, and re-open negotiations with Robert Rodriguez. Also surprising is that FOX would mock itself with this movies. I coould never seeing them doing that. Please, let all this be true, and I will be a happy nerd.