Shane Black On Iron Man 3’s Maya Hansen

Judging by the subdued tone of itsteaser trailer, **Iron Man 3 **will be taking the wind out of Tony Stark's billion-dollar sails in a big way, leaving the head of Stark Industries homeless and menacing by Ben Kingsley's Mandarin. Into this messy post-**Avengers **world comes Rebecca Hall's biotech scientist, Maya Hansen, Starks' match for sass and smarts.

"We needed a snappy and exciting actor to play the part", director Shane Black told **Empire **of Hall's femme biological, "and not make it this 'female scientist who takes off her glasses and suddenly she's beautiful'. There's a certain element about her being the female Robert Downey in a way. She's very bratty and irreverent and quick on her feet with the one-liners, Rebecca."

While Hall herself was keeping schtum about Hansen's role in the Extremis-based storyline - "she's a scientist [and] that's all I'm allowed to say!" - Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige provided some elaboration. "She makes a pretty astounding discovery that leads her to place - and some are healthier than others," he explained. "It's not dissimilar to what Tony's been through, and it's a great parallel."

Empire magazine's Rebecca Hall feature in the March 2013 issue

For Empire's exclusive **Iron Man 3 **coverage pick up a copy of the March issue, onsale from January 31. The latest instalment of the Stark Saga, meanwhile, will be in cinemas on April 26.

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