Iron Man 3 debuts around the world this weekend, and May 3 in U.S. theaters. All signs point to a big opening and what could be the summer's first $1 billion film.
IM3 is the beginning of "Phase 2" of the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which movies come together in a serialized, but cohesive, story -- like in the comic books. When last Marvel did this, the sixth and final film of Phase 1 -- Marvel's The Avengers -- brought in $1.5 billion.
Phase 2 includes two other sequels, including Thor: The Dark World, which is scheduled for November. Five films are confirmed at this point, and work on Phase 3 has commenced. The point for investors? Walt Disney (DIS 0.78%) has a long-term plan for how to collect billions more from its Marvel investment. It's only a matter of time before we see a similar plan from Time Warner (TWX +0.00%), says Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova in the following interview with The Motley Fool's Erin Miller.
Can Marvel's Phase 2 films deliver on an even bigger scale than Phase 1? Please watch this short video to get Tim's full take, and then leave a comment to let us know whether you'd buy, sell, or short Disney stock now, and why.
