Will The Mandarin Be The Villain In 'Iron Man 3'?

Mandarin needs to be in Ironman but he also needs a name change

it would be cool

i hope it is Mandarin! it would be epic...

@wmwadeii said:

For some reason when I first read this I didn't think of Mandarin but the movie Outsourced. Basically in outsourced they send US jobs to India where it is 5:1 (5 Indian workers for every 1 American), at the end of the movie they get outsourced to China where it is now 5:1 (5 Chinese workers for every 1 Indian). Therefore by math you can pay 25:1 (25 Chinese to 1 American).

I LOL at Marvel fans who are so obssessed with what stupid villian will show up in the next Iron Man film that not only do they gloss over a concept that was nothing more than Fu Manchu updated to the Red Menace era ,but fail to see the further loss of American jobs by this movie shifting production to China.This is the second Marvel film to base a majority of it's production over to Asia,the first being Jackmans new Wolverine on it's way to Japan.Has Marvel struck a Steve Jobs style deal yet to make all the spinoff merchandise at the super factory/slave labor site as well? Screw Marvel and Downey and everybody involved in this and Jackman and Wolverine as well.Marvel and it's stars should be facing major complaints and boycotts as well over this.Thanks for your post I see it flew totally over the heads of the parent's basement dwelling ilk who posted here.

I'm thinking no Mandarin, since they had "The 10 Rings" as the terrorists in the first movie. I'm almost hoping that, since Thor and now the Avengers have introduced the more fantastical elements of the Marvel Universe we might get Fin Fang Foom (assuming he and his ilk aren't the giant snake things in the Avengers promos).

With that corny Marvel Supervillain like Whiplash I think Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios better get this Super Awesome Iron Man Supervillain in his third Movie don't you think? P.S. Iron Man 2 sucks really is really do I watched it and it is so horrible unlike Spider-Man 2 who is probably the best Marvel Movie Sequel ever made and Doctor Octopus the best Marvel Supervillain to be selected in a Marvel Movie.

It seems unlikely that the Chinese would WANT to be the villains in a movie being filmed in their country.

I hope so what other villain could be more important

@mickoreo_LZ said:

Seems like you almost have to have Mandarin in an Iron Man film. Its almost like not having Red Skull in a Cap movie, or not having Joker in a Batman film. Just needs to be done

I agree,we are onto the third movie now.Mandarin needs to make an appearance.

@cattlebattle said:

Shane Black (whatever the directors name is) stated his lack of interest for the Mandarin character claiming he was outdated and racist.... This is blatantly Marvel invoking their creative control, no wonder they lose so many directors

For better or worse, (possibly worse based on how most directors react to Marvel's creative control) I'm super cool with any sort of appearance by the Mandarin because HE IS THE BADDEST ASS.

it probably will be.

@War Killer said:

I personally would have rather had Living Laser and Spymaster, but eh, we'll see how this turns out.

Replace Living Laser with Ghost and I agree with you.

@Gambit1024 said:

@cattlebattle said:

Shane Black (whatever the directors name is) stated his lack of interest for the Mandarin character claiming he was outdated and racist....

Yeah, I heard about this too. But then I thought about how Favreu tried to set up for Mandarin in the first Iron Man. It looks like from the very beginning, they've changed the Mandarin completely, making him the leader of what appears to be a Middle Eastern organization called "The Ten Rings." So, if my hope is right, Black took the hint, and shaped him into something new (and in my opinion) better. Or, they're going to do what they did with Whiplash and make him a combination of two villains. Either way, there's not a doubt in my mind that this movie will have Mandarin, in one form or another.

Everyone keeps mentioning the "Ten Rings" from the first movie. I think you have it about right Gambit. Like most movies they change the original to match the current "Threat" to the world. Look at Bourne movies, or James Bond. They are written during one "Crisis" and the movie is changed to match the current world threat. We should also look at how Marvel can and will change the back stories and origins to make it a more enjoyable movie and to again coincide with the current or modern day.

A little magic aspect, especially after Avengers movie, can do Iron Man good. Mandarin is one of the most iconic ( if not THE Iconic ) Iron Man villian soo seeing him on the movie is a win-win and I would be disappointed if I won't see him.

It may actually beat the plot of how every villian in the movie must come up with a stronger armor than Tony's like in the first 2 movies. Mandarin on the other hand, really do not need one. In fact I am pretty sure he can create his own without a problem but he never really had a need to it.

Hell, I would be estatic if they add Fin Fang Foom to the mix !

@Decept-O said:

as others point out, making the villain Chinese won't exactly appeal to the Chinese government! It makes me scratch my head on this one.

LOL yeah, make the villain chinese...smart move Disney

@MrMazz said:

Well Mandarin would get around the whole every villian develops a suit of armor problem they have had.

I was kind of hoping for redux of Madame Masque make her some sorta terrorist or something.

That Actually would have been really awesome considering Black Widow and Scarlett Johanson have been confirmed for Iron Man 3 it would have given a good dynamic with the Techno-terrorist angle. But It would have been really smart to also have the Mandarin, working in consort with Masque. That way there would have been two climatic battles and we could see more action and examples of the tech the Widow would be using and some of tony starks more creative armours and inventions.

This seems rather odd on all levels. Why bother going all the way to China to film the next movie? Financially, that just doesn't make sense to me. Is Disney/Marvel that desperate to get more money from the world at large? Yet as others point out, making the villain Chinese won't exactly appeal to the Chinese government! It makes me scratch my head on this one.

Not too keen on the possibility of Mandarin as a villain.

I would love to see Mandarin in this movie!

- Just saw that Iron Man 3 will be co-produced with China on a CNN by-line (they have lots of free cash for financing) if this is accurate it speaks volumes.

- With this known I really do not see Mandarin as the villain, China is really defensive about their image and with this financing arrangement they will have significant say on the direction of the film.

@JMLG said:

wouldnt be right if Iron Man movie franchise wouldnt have Mandarin in it, so im down

Who says the Iron man franchise has to be a trilogy?

Personally I don't mind Mandarin but I'd rather see Extremis.

Well, the Chinese don't go for Chinese villains in an American movie. They did ban the Dark Knight in China theaters after all due to Batman going to Hong Kong to get that Chinese guy and bring him back to the states. Oops - - painting China/Chinese in a bad light? A big no-no! I was surprised they allowed The Mummy 3 to be shown here with Jet Li as the villain.

So, yeah, if the Mandarin is a non-Chinese character, then it might be received better. BTW, all these big powerhouse superhero movies (except, well, that one Batman movie) are HUGE hits over here - - Iron Man especially as he is sort of a Manga-ish kind of character with his ever-changing arsenal of armor. Captain America didn't go over especially well here. Wonder why? :)

I'm surprised only a handful of people have pointed out that the first movie mentions 'The Ten Rings', which was an obvious nod to Mandarin.

As ALL the Marvel and DC movies lately have shown us, the characters in the films don't LITERALLY have to be what you've seen in the comic. The Ten Rings terrorists originally kidnapped Stark because they wanted his weaponry. It would seem to make a whole lot of sense that, since they caused the situation that basically created Iron Man, and that Iron Man took out one of their cells in the first movie, that they would go after Stark again and want his armor. Or that they would have made knock-off armor after seeing what Stark did. And you know, no one actually calls Whiplash, 'Whiplash' in IM2. Or Hulk, 'Hulk'. Its just a matter of, "This is the leader of the Ten Rings, Zhang Tong". Then maybe some dude speaks proper Chinese to him and he says, "Sorry, I only speak Mandarin" or something silly like that.

If Shane Black can't see how this would work, then he's a fool.

if they bring in mandarin, greatest comic book trilogy to come from marvel ever.. so far

i can't say greatest comic book movie trilogy every because of the nolans batman series, but yeah

Who knows, s*** happens....

YUS Mandarin! :) And possibly bring in Madame Masque as a minor femme fatale type role. But Shellhead's arch-enemy has got to make it to the Iron Man films! And if he doesn't, I will lose a lot of respect for the series as a whole. Other suitable arch-enemies that have found their way into live action movie adaptations include: Lex Luthor, General Zod (Superman), The Joker, Ra's Al Ghul (Batman), Green Goblin, Doc Ock (Spider-Man), Magneto, Sebastian Shaw (X-Men), Deacon Frost, Dracula (Blade), Blackheart, Mephisto (Ghost Rider), Loki (Thor), Red Skull (Captain America), Abomination (Incredible Hulk), Doctor Doom, Galactus (Fantastic Four), The Kingpin, Bullseye (Daredevil), Hector Hammond, Sinestro, Parallax (Green Lantern), and Malebolgia and The Violater (Spawn).

@Malonius said:

Tony then announces to his factory slaves that they now have to build the robots he's just invented to replace them. Also, 2 minute break is over. GET BACK TO WORK!!!! (Flies away with the 5 best looking women in China)

And the worst part is, Tony's plane isn't even a hybrid. He flies off followed by a plume of smoke.

@Namor1987: Stark Industries doesn't pay well enough to get mouthfulls of rice.

@royale_with_cheese said:

@Malonius said:

Yeah....make the villian a Chinese guy who ultimately gets defeated by the living symbol of the decadent American military-industrial complex. Should go over great with the Chinese audiences. Maybe during the epic finale battle between Iron Man and the Mandarin they can crash through a factory in China where slave-workers are cranking out Iron Man action figures.

LMAO. End the film with Tony Stark strangling the Mandarin with the American flag, while the latter tries to reach for his hammer and sickle.

Tony then announces to his factory slaves that they now have to build the robots he's just invented to replace them. Also, 2 minute break is over. GET BACK TO WORK!!!! (Flies away with the 5 best looking women in China)

@Malonius said:

Yeah....make the villian a Chinese guy who ultimately gets defeated by the living symbol of the decadent American military-industrial complex. Should go over great with the Chinese audiences. Maybe during the epic finale battle between Iron Man and the Mandarin they can crash through a factory in China where slave-workers are cranking out Iron Man action figures.

LMAO. End the film with Tony Stark strangling the Mandarin with the American flag, while the latter tries to reach for his hammer and sickle.

@Malonius said:

Yeah....make the villian a Chinese guy who ultimately gets defeated by the living symbol of the decadent American military-industrial complex. Should go over great with the Chinese audiences. Maybe during the epic finale battle between Iron Man and the Mandarin they can crash through a factory in China where slave-workers are cranking out Iron Man action figures.

LOL Chinese sweatshop with them making IM's arc reactors & shoveling rice in their mouthes.

Yeah....make the villian a Chinese guy who ultimately gets defeated by the living symbol of the decadent American military-industrial complex. Should go over great with the Chinese audiences. Maybe during the epic finale battle between Iron Man and the Mandarin they can crash through a factory in China where slave-workers are cranking out Iron Man action figures.

Pretty sure I heard that the Mandarin IS the villain for Iron Man 3. I heard it a year or more ago. Something about the terrorists in the first movie were connected to the Mandarin, if you paid attention there was a clue. And then something about how the writers had to figure out how to deal with Mandarin's magic rings. They couldn't figure out if they would be magical or scientific.

Something like that, but I am 100% sure that I heard that with my ears from some sort of commentary.

Shane Black said no the Mandarin, if he does show up he will be venom all over again.

mandarin sucks.

YES!! And it was all my idea 2!

@biggkeem89: i have no problem with that , given he isnt chinese , but still

Mandarin for me is pretty much Iron Man's greatest adversary, and combined with the fact that there will be shooting in China, its only fair that he becomes the main villain. Mandarin all the way.

Well this series is smucked. Lol Mandarian was like Iron Man's main villain. Why would they ruin that for some Extremis crap. If the Asians don't like it too bad. Mandarin was awesome he had the 10 rings, sorcerery & martial arts. Yeah it's stereotyping but oh well. I love the character. But they edited Crimson Dynamo heavily probably because he is the Russian counterpart to Iron Monger. But Mandarin is basically the Chinese equivalent of Doctor Doom he's iconic & should be left untouched. Mallen was cool in Armored Adventures but I've never seen his comic counterpart so I hope that he'll be cool.

At least they're keeping Don Cheadle and not getting another Rhodey. I saw somewhere that they were going to run off the (2005) 'Extremis' series. But I'd rather have the Mandarin, been wanting to see technology vs. magic since the first movie.

@JMLG said:

wouldnt be right if Iron Man movie franchise wouldnt have Mandarin in it, so im down

@cattlebattle said:

 Shane Black (whatever the directors name is) stated his lack of interest for the Mandarin character claiming he was outdated and racist....  

Yeah, I heard about this too.   But then I thought about how Favreu tried to set up for Mandarin in the first Iron Man. It looks like from the very beginning, they've changed the Mandarin completely, making him the leader of what appears to be a Middle Eastern organization called "The Ten Rings." So, if my hope is right, Black took the hint, and shaped him into something new (and in my opinion) better. Or, they're going to do what they did with Whiplash and make him a combination of two villains. Either way, there's not a doubt in my mind that this movie will have Mandarin, in one form or another. 

I heard that if they were to include the Mandarin it wouldn't be with 10 magical rings because they don't think larger audiences would buy into it, it'd be a tech-based ring or something.

Ghost would be a awesome villain. He's someone that i think a lot of ppl would respect.

Seems like you almost have to have Mandarin in an Iron Man film. Its almost like not having Red Skull in a Cap movie, or not having Joker in a Batman film. Just needs to be done

If the Mandarin is not the villain I swear

I saw a IGN video over the weekend that said the villain would NOT be Mandarin.

- From what I have read it looks like the villain will be some variation of Mallen from the Extremis storyline. They may add Mandarin as a behind the scenes mastermind, but I do not see him as a primary villain.

- Of course they could always just mix and match an opponent like in IM2 as stated earlier

 Shane Black (whatever the directors name is) stated his lack of interest for the Mandarin character claiming he was outdated and racist....  

wasnt the guys that caught tony in the first Iron man the 10 rings of Mandarin...thats at least what my friend said...but it would seem right to make the villain Mandarin.....unless they were gonna hold onto him for a Dr Strange movie or something...

You can't sell a Movie to a Chinese audience where the bad guy is named Mandarin and is being played by a white guy.

My guess is a Mandarin-esque knock-off so not to offend anybody because I really can't see Sir Ben Kingsley playing anybody else.

My hope was that they would have used Ezekiel Stane and done a movie about these characters and their father's legacies.