Paltrow joins Iron Man cast

Gwyneth Paltrow is to join the cast of Jon Favreau's action thriller Iron Man.

Variety reports that she will star as Virginia "Pepper" Potts - personal secretary to billionaire superhero Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.

The film is being financed by Marvel Studios, with production scheduled to begin in March.

And Iron Man, which continues the trend of superhero-based films, looks set to cast a team of widely-respected actors such as Paltrow and Crash star Terrence Howard.

"These are popcorn films designed for broad audiences," Marvel Studios' president of production, Kevin Feige, told the magazine.

"But there are multidimensional characters that have brought us the best luck with actors."

Gwyneth has scaled down her work commitments in the past couple of years, after having two children with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

However, she recently featured in Truman Capote biopic Infamous and book adaptation Running With Scissors.

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