Ben Kingsley lets slip during interview...he IS the Mandarin!

[hedrap]

You mean how Nolan had Watannabe as a front-man for Neeson's Al Ghul? In 2005?

Yeah, considering Marvel had already lifted Begins "Asian Front Man Covering For Evil White Man" for the first IM film, a lot of people pointed out how it made IM3 look even more idiotic to rip off their movie and have the Mandarin covering for another evil, white, corporate guy.

Then again, that's Marvel's fallback villain time and again. I mean, when even Doom has to a be a smarmy white corporate heavy, it shows how lazy they are.

That's why Cap2 is going to be chalk full o' eyerolls. Won't be hard to deduce the bad guys.

[jwyblejr]

And yet look at all of the bad guys in the recent Batman movies that are Asian.

[hedrap]

Samurai - originally, it was the Chinese Cultures Board or whatever the name is. They go through the script and whatnot and if it's deemed derogatory to Chinese culture, you either can't shoot in the country or won't get co-production status, which adds another 15% to the ticket gate.

I think you're right on a lot of the points. They're overly sensitive to the business/media reaction, when a lot of the demo group in Korea, Japan, etc... had a similar wth reaction to Kingsley's reveal.

They should have offered Chow Yun Fat a mint and made Kingsley either one of the Titanium Man or Crimson Dynamo characters. They could have tied the second and third films together nicely and ended with a reveal of Chow as the Mandarin. They could have even hid it from the public by shooting his scenes in China. Honestly, I thought that's what they were doing there, anyway.

[samurainoir]

I still love how afraid Marvel is to paint Mandarin/Ten Rings as any kind of Asian Continent cult.

That really surprised me as well, especially since Iron Man 3 was a Chinese co-production (with it's own theatrical cut). When I first heard this and rumours of casting, I was certain that we'd get an a-list Pacific Rim Bankable star to play the Mandarin.

Although I guess it comes down to how risk averse Marvel Studios is... if a great deal of funding comes from China, and you also make much of your $$$ from merchandise in Asia like Hot Toys and Cel Phone covers, why stick your neck out like that? Understandable I guess... would the Asian investors and licensors be so quick to put money into a movie where the only high profile Asian faces would be portrayed as terrorists? If you depend on the worldwide box office given how sky high the budgets are on these films, why risk offending an entire continent consisting of potentially billions of movie goers.

For all we know, that was one of the conditions of the chinese co-production deal.

[hedrap]

"Hail To The King" was turrible.

Kingsley was quite good, but the idea and execution were junk.

I still love how afraid Marvel is to paint Mandarin/Ten Rings as any kind of Asian Continent cult.

SPOILERS AHOY....





It's one thing to have Killan's team to come up with the Mandarin marketing idea. That I like. But to then have another white Brit be the twist, on top of the black guys who love Trevor and the skinhead who wanted to hurt him, it's just blatant PC butt-kissing.

Reality would be the exact opposite. The skinheads would back Trevor and the black/latino gangs would see him as a fraud. And by having a Brit as the devotee of the True Mandarin, for a swerve, there's no tension. You know he's not going to kill Trevor.

Studios have become sooo intimidated, Amrish Puri never would be able to play Mola Ram in a modern Temple of Doom. And Ram would probably be a revised into a British ex-pat whose come to "resurrect the cult of Kali", or some nonsense.

[jwyblejr]

Giving this a bump because I caught IM 3 last night on Starz. Trevor said he was given plastic surgery. Why do that to someone nobody knows about? So I'm guessing we didn't see the real deal after all.

[Earth 2 Chris]

This sounds like back-pedaling to me. Maybe this was the plan all along, but if it was, then they really screwed up by not giving us the reveal at the end of the picture.

Chris

[Hector]

I lost count how many times Stark lost his armor in mid flight during Iron Man 3...I think it's time for a new model that doesn't open like Humpty Dumpty.

And that climatic scene were Gweneth Paltrow saves the day and takes care of the villain...L A M E.

And don't get me started on that irrelevant and useless kid part...argh.

Good grief...what a gawd awful movie.

[hedrap]

Random

If this were the plan all along that the Trevor character was another act of duplicity, they could have simply done an after credits scene explaining this instead of the couch scene. Now THAT would have been nicely done and would have saved all the backlash. Instead they are going to attach this to Thor2 or something else unconnected to the IM franchise. I don't honestly know if they had a plan

Exactly what I think. It would have been classic Connery Bond to have Mandarin playing Killian and Trevor in a post-credit. But noooo, can't offend out new Chinese overlords. Isn't a great feeling knowing our entertainment is slowly being dictated by communist policies? Yay.


Igauna -

After the first Iron Man movie, I was sure they were heading in that direction. I just remember leaving the theater after IM3 thinking "What the hell was that?".

They were, or at least Favreau and RDJ were. But Disney has their own policies, and one of them is alcoholism/drinking by the lead/hero is a no-no. So Black switched it to the post-trauma angle.

[Random Axe]

I thought about that too...but, we don't really know if there was a true lack of security. What if it was all merely part of the "act" of hiding in plain sight? I assume "Trevor" did indeed know Stark was approaching, and merely pretended to be caught off guard. Very sly move from a master deceiver and manipulator.

I considered that possibility too, but that would have been done within the film or at least hinted at. This all smells like Marvel saving face over a terrible decision. If this were the plan all along that the Trevor character was another act of duplicity, they could have simply done an after credits scene explaining this instead of the couch scene. Now THAT would have been nicely done and would have saved all the backlash. Instead they are going to attach this to Thor2 or something else unconnected to the IM franchise. I don't honestly know if they had a plan.

[Killer Iguana]

When you can't do Demon In A Bottle because of Mouse policy, you're going to have problems finding original story approaches. IM3 is the poster boy.

I agree. After the first Iron Man movie, I was sure they were heading in that direction. I just remember leaving the theater after IM3 thinking "What the hell was that?".

[hedrap]

^ When Disney buys you for 4Billion, and you make 1.5Bil on one film - you will make Avengers movie, in face of penalty of death.

I'm no Marvel cheerleader. I think the product keeps getting more generic by each film. I'm praying Thor 2 proves me wrong, but they're so hellbent on the "global catastrophe + humor" model, it seeps into everything. I have zero faith in Cap2 and Guardians.

When you can't do Demon In A Bottle because of Mouse policy, you're going to have problems finding original story approaches. IM3 is the poster boy.

[Gorn Captain]

RDJ is only on board for Avengers movies. They're going to reboot every role after A3.

You mean they are already "planning" Avengers 4?
Boy, talk about a positive attitude concerning your own work. Are the producers related to James Cameron?

[hedrap]

I think we went through the why's and wherefores during IM3.

They changed the character to appease the Chinese film board. You have to pass their "requirements" to qualify as a state co-production which then leads to a 35% take on ticket sales in China, instead of the normal 25%.

So, IM3 = 35% return. Man of Steel = 25% return.

Favreau always intended for The Mandarin to be Stark's equivalent. The difference was the Ten Rings/Al-Qaeda was a front for Mandarin, who was actually some Hong Kong/Triad industrialist. Like a cross between Obadiah Stane and Belloch from Raiders.

Feige was made very aware of the backlash and that it did effect support. He's seen it in the tepid response to Wolverine and now SHIELD. The guy bought his own press after Avengers, but that was all set in place by Arad and Favreau.

Screw the retcon. It's a one-shot make good that's probably more about saving SHIELD from itself by reinventing AIM. RDJ is only on board for Avengers movies. They're going to reboot every role after A3. You can read it in his most recent interviews.

[thunderbolt]

maybe it will be an adaptation of King Size Avengers 1 with all the movie villains up to that point.