Robert Downey Junior injured his ankle while shooting a stunt on the North Carolina set of Iron Man 3 and the threequel will briefly halt production until the star is back on the mend.

Expectations are running high for the eagerly anticipated sequel following the first two films' staggering global grosses, which topped out at 585 million dollars and $623 million, respectively.

The Shane Black–helmed flick began shooting in May with a cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall and Guy Pearce, and a top-secret plot believed to be inspired by the comic book's popular Extremis storyline, in which a scientist creates a drug that grants people superhuman abilities.