The Mandarin Confirmed As Iron Man 3 Villain

Don Cheadle and Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 2
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Marvel Studios is proving why they are the top dog when it comes to Hall H presentations (and why Robert Downey Jr. is the undisputed King of Comic-Con). Downey took to the stage to present Iron Man 3 footage, which Eric will recap in great detail in his live blog (it looked amazing), there was one huge news: Sir Ben Kingsley is playing The Mandarin.

The explosive footage that they showed concluded with shots of Kingsley’s hands wearing the rings. Then it pulls back a little bit further to show the actor stroking his grey beard. Then he cocks a handgun, even though he’s sitting in an Oriental chair. It’s very quick, but it confirms what we expected. Kingsley is The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

“We’re halfway done,” Black confirmed on the shoot, then calling Kingsley “lovely” and doing a great Sir Ben impersonation. “This guy is The Mandarin.”

We’ll have plenty more on Iron Man 3. Stay tuned.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.