Sir Ben Kingsley sure can play the hero — films like Gandhi and Schindler’s List have proven that. But even better than a virtuous Kingsley is a villainous one. The man is at his best when he takes the heavy. And Kingsley might well bring his capabilities in the delivery of evil to Iron Man 3.
The established thespian is in talks to join Robert Downey, Jr.’s Marvel threequel as a secondary villain who will face off against Tony Stark. Hope is that Kingsley will play The Mandarin, Iron Man’s comic book archenemy. The Mandarin, as he was created in the 1960s, is a China-born Chinese-English orphan who was raised by a misanthropic aunt, trained unrelentingly in science and martial arts (by a dragon), and eventually rendered penniless due to his government’s corruption. So it’s no-brainer on how he became a supervillain.
THR reports that The Mandarin viewers are might see could differ somewhat from his classic comic incarnation. The six-issue “Extremis” storyline from the Iron Man comics (which inspired aspects of Downey’s first Iron Man film) featured The Mandarin as a victim of his own diabolical scheme to “enhance” the human race genetically via the release of a virus called Extremis. Could Iron Man 3 audiences see The Mandarin successfully carrying out his Extremis plan?
However, other sources, such as Badass Digest, are suggesting that Kingsley will take on a different Iron Man villain: one possibility includes oil tycoon Hugh Jones. What Iron Man villainwould you most like to see take form in Iron Man 3?
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Marvel Universe: News on Iron Man 3, Dr. Strange, Thor 2, Cap 2 and Nick Fury
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[THR]
