All eyes are on the batch of Marvel movie sequels to follow Joss Whedon’s forthcoming Avengers Assemble – the first of which will be Iron Man 3, directed by Lethal Weapon writer Shane Black and seeing Robert Downey Jr reprise the role of billionaire womanising war machine Tony Stark.
Iron Man 3, which is expected 3 May 2013, has stepped up admirably and found its villain in Oscar winning big screen veteran Sir Ben Kingsley.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes ‘insiders’ who claim that Kingsley will be playing the role of The Mandarin, a xenophobic Sixties caricature that SciFiNowians might remember as the green bad guy with the magic rings in the 1994 Iron Man animated series.
Speaking in 2010 to MTV, Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau (who will be producer on Iron Man 3) suggested the classic villain might make an appearance.
“The problem with The Mandarin is, the way it’s depicted in the comic books, you don’t want to see that,” Favreau said, adding, “He also has 10 magical rings, and it just doesn’t feel right for our thing, so it’s either tech-based or the rings are not really rings.”
So, is Sir Ben Kingsley The Mandarin and if so, how are they going to tackle this ‘yellow peril’ throwback?
