After what I considered a disappointing entry into the series with Iron Man 2, I’m starting to cautiously anticipate Iron Man 3. The fact that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang writer/director Shane Black is reuniting with star Robert Downey Jr. to continue the adventures of Tony Stark is a huge step toward reinvigorating this franchise, and now the production has made another great choice by bringing Sir Ben Kingsley on board as the film’s villain. More after the jump.
Variety has the news, which pegs Kingsley as an unnamed villain involved with nanotechnology. This runs contrary to many fan expectations that The Mandarin would appear as the villain in the third film, especially considering the nods to that character that have been seen so far in the first two movies. The Mandarin is “a wealthy Chinese scientist and martial arts expert who, by backing the warlord who imprisoned Stark, was indirectly responsible for the creation of Iron Man,” which frankly sounds like a great bad guy for this movie.
But die hard Iron Man fans have known for a while now that the story for Iron Man 3 will draw heavily from Warren Ellis’ “Extremis” run in the comics, and The Mandarin doesn’t factor in as the villain. We expect the typical studio tactic of shrouding this character in secrecy, but it’s only a matter of time before someone finds out more details about Kingsley’s character – and when they do, we’ll keep you in the loop.
