Iron Man 3 screened in Times Square last night, and though it's practically impossible to talk about the Mandarin without spoilers, I've got to say that he is the most daring creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. As Ben Kingsley, who portrays the villain, said again and again and again in the trailers, "You will never see me coming," and that line resonates even more now that I've seen the movie. more »
There's a new TV spot for Iron Man 3 out, and it drops a few new tantalizing images and hints. The clip begins with the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) channeling Richard Nixon with some "My fellow Americans" shtick before proclaiming that "my soldiers will destroy your country." more »
A recent production still from Iron Man 3 shows that movie's presumed main villain, the Mandarin, in a kind of evil Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" pose with what appears to be a translucent cape or tapestry draped from him. And right now, I'm obsessed with the text that's on it. more »
There's yet another Iron Man 3 TV spot making the rounds, and, like the international TV spot I wrote about on Monday, it leaves the distinct impression that Ben Kingsley has dialed back the affected voice he was using in his portrayal of the Mandarin. more »
If you've been following reports about Iron Man 3, then you know that Gwyneth Paltrow's character Pepper Potts dons an armored suit during the Mandarin's helicopter attack on Tony Stark's home. But now you can actually see her in the suit in this international TV spot for the movie. Gywnnie looks great, but I'm more interested in the Mandarin's affectation-free "You'll never see me coming" voiceover. more »
Whether Benedict Cumberbatch is Robert April, Khan or some other canon character entirely, he's going to be awesomely evil judging from this new international Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. He's also going to speak in a measured and lordly British accent that will surely have him competing with Ben Kingsley's the Mandarin for Affected Villain Voice of 2013. more »
If, like me, you've been spending way too much time puzzling over the international villain of mystery known as The Mandarin, I have some clues and an out-there theory. I'll give you the information first. more »
This latest and last trailer for Iron Man 3 before the Marvel movie's May 3 release takes a while to work up a head of steam, but stick with it. Do your best to ignore the cringe-inducing dialect that Ben Kingsley has adopted to play the Mandarin — "you'lllll neverrrr see me coming" — try not to be distracted by Gwyneth Paltrow in a black bra and wait for the final shots of this Yahoo! exclusive. more »
Back in October, I wrote about how Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige was spinning Iron Man 3 villain the Mandarin as international rather than Chinese, his ethnicity in the Marvel universe. “It’s less about his specific ethnicity than the symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end,” Feige told Entertainment Weekly at the time. The Mandarin's topknot is supposed to evoke a Japanese samurai while EW called his beard "bin Laden-esque." more »
When Entertainment Weekly posted an exclusive photo of actor Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin, the super-villain who rocks Tony Stark's world in the upcoming Iron Man 3, it resurrected a thorny question around the virtual office here. In the Marvel universe, the Mandarin is the son of one of pre-Revolutionary China's wealthiest men and an English noblewoman, as well as a descendant of Ghengis Khan. So, why, as Executive Editor Jen Yamato wondered when news broke that Ben Kingsley would play him, did the job go to a half-Indian, half-English actor? more »
