Don Cheadle has said that shooting on Iron Man 3 will begin next February.
Cheadle, who plays Tony Stark's friend James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, also hinted at a War Machine spin-off movie for his character.
He told Collider: "Iron Man 3 is coming back. We'll probably do that again in February and there's talk of a War Machine spinoff, which I guess, unless I get recast, I would probably do."
When asked if he'll be lining up alongside Iron Man and joining up with Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) on The Avengers, Cheadle answered: "Not this one that they're shooting right now. Thank God!
"I have a contract to be in The Avengers but I'm glad they haven't exercised that option yet. I need some down time."
Iron Man is due to be released on May 3, 2013, with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's Shane Black replacing Jon Favreau in the director's chair.