Here's How The Chinese Cut Of 'Iron Man 3' Is Different

By Germain LussierMay 1, 2013 2:03 pm EST

Marvel is well-known for inserting scenes into their films to surprise audiences, and Iron Man 3 is no different. As always, stay to the end of the credits. What is different about Tony Stark's latest adventure is that the film's Chinese release is four minutes longer than in the rest of the world. China helped co-finance the film (though it isn't an official co-production) and the Chinese footage features cameos by some of the country's most famous actors. Those four minutes got a lot of fanboy interest when director Shane Black said they featured an "interesting surprise."

Iron Man 3 premiered in China Wednesday night and details of those scenes have now made it online. Sorry, there are no major revelations like an appearance from villain Fin Fang Foom. The footage is just a bunch of extended scenes that some fans claim are totally extraneous to the plot. Read about them below.The Hollywood Reporter wrote about three scenes in particular from the four extra minutes. Any possible spoilers have been removed.

"What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?" The question pops on screen, seemingly promising some kind of major reveal. Nope, the Chinese letters for "Gu Li Duo" are the answer, which refers to a drink that's available all over the country. Nothing more than a commercial. The character of Dr Wu Dr. Wu (Wang Xueqi) is then seen drinking the drink.

Later in the film Dr. Wu is talking on the phone in his office and behind him, Iron Man is seen on TV playing with school children. (It's the scene pictured above in the header pic.)

Towards the end of the film, Dr. Wu is performing a task with Stark and has a conversation with his assistant about it.

In the U.S. cut, Wu appears at the beginning and end of the film, but only has a line or two. He's a throwaway character.

What isn't clear about these scenes, though, is if they comprise the entire four minutes or it the reports are purposely not mentioning something else, some kind of "interesting surprise." If you head over to the Hollywood Reporter, they aggregated some online responses to the scenes, which were largely negative.

If anything else comes out in regards to the scenes, or they arrive online, we'll have them here. But for you domestic Iron Man fans, don't worry too much about the extended cut.