'Iron Man 3' gets special Chinese treatment

A unique version of 'Iron Man 3' will be released in China which will include special extra footage, so say Marvel Studios and Chinese media company DMG.

The bonus material is said to include an appearance by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing who is also set to appear in another forthcoming Marvel universe movie, 'X Men: Days of Future Past.'

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Many Hollywood movies have been cut for the Chinese censors, including recent films such as 'Red Dawn' - which had images of Chinese flags removed from scenes and also changed the nationality of the baddies to North Korean - but the additional footage for 'Iron Man 3' marks a new trend for lengthening features to make them more appealing to audiences in the east.

'Looper', which was also distributed by DMG, had extra shots of Chinese street scenes added to the special version released in that country.

'Iron Man 3' has already had plot elements specifically designed to increase its appeal across both markets such as director Shane Black filming scenes in Beijing in December with Chinese actor Wang Xueqi. Xuegi plays a character named Dr. Wu.

The film is released in the UK in late April but has yet to have a Chinese release date set.