As promised by Jon Favreau, the first official Iron Man 2 picture has surfaced at USA Today. It shows Tony Stark sat at a desk with glowing chest and four suits behind him.

The article reveals that the sequel takes place six months after Stark reveals he is Iron Man:

“How many superheroes are open about their true identities?” he asks. “We wanted to play with that idea. But it obviously has consequences — in his relationships, on the team. There are a lot of areas we can explore.”

The article continues,

He hopes to have all other Iron Man 2 details locked down — even though he’s sending dispatches via Twitter from the set. “It’s never easy with summer movies, but we’re trying to keep as much a surprise as possible,” he says.

[...]

Favreau says that tackling the franchise a second time is easier because he knows the landscape. Something else would help, too: “I really enjoyed when we were a dark horse and no one knew much about us. … I hope we can find that place again.”