Official Mandarin Casting Thread

[RonStoppablefan]

Who do you think would be the best actor for Manarin? I want the person to be a very good actor. Some one who can pull off evil. Some one who def looks the part and can play him spot on. Who though?

[Armored Avenger]

They have to be from the far east, as the Mandarin must look chinese. As for the characteristics, they must be able to be menacing, but also be able to show his deep spirituality and philosophical side.

[MrShifty]

Chow Yun Fat

[FaT_tONle]

Ken Watanabe? I don't know there are only like two or three names that are familiar to people.

[chamber-music]

Andy Lau would be a awesome Mandarin
Speaks english and his one of Hong Kongs best actors.

http://web2.seventymm.com/images/ActorImage/191930.jpg

http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/warlords-andy-lau.jpg http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2005/10/11/andy-lau2.jpg

[LadyMoira]

Andy Lau *is* a great actor but here are my other choices...

Chow Yun Fat. (No explanation needed.)

Ken Watanabe. (No explanation needed.)

Tony Leung Incredible Honk Kong star, was in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero. Has sex appeal, charisma, and incredible moves on screen. I mean to pull off the Mandarin in a way that's both respectful to the legend of the comic and not be racist is going to take a. smart writing that conveys the Mandarin's skills and evil capacity but in a non-stereotypically Asian way, and B. One helluva good actor. An actor who is a worthy antagonist to RDJ. A Superhero is only as good as his villains after all. (Which of course is why Spiderman was way WAY cooler fighting Norman and Doc Ock in the first two parts than he was against that whiny Eddie Brock in part three.)

[FaT_tONle]

Lau certainly looks the part especially in that last pic... just needs the wig.

[RonStoppablefan]

I like either the idea of Tony Leung for the guy or Andy Lau. They both seem like good choices. Wonder if Marvel would consider them for Mandarin.

[CorpusBlack]

I'd put Andy Lau at the top of my list.

[Danalys]

tony leung is so awesome. damn infernal affairs was good.

[Kokomo29]

I am gonna have to go with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. I can totally see him being an awesome Madarin!

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/141/caryhiroyukitagawa1yt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[CorpusBlack]

I am gonna have to go with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. I can totally see him being an awesome Madarin!

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/141/caryhiroyukitagawa1yt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Only if they have obnoxious techno playing in the background and colorful ninjas fighting a four armed behemoth.

[Chris B]

Chow Yun Fat.

[BobJM]

I'm a big Ken Watanabe fan. I know people ***** and moan that he is always typecasted since roles in Last Samurai and Batman Begins, but he seems to fit the role.

I'd take Chow-yun fat too

[Badger]

I am gonna have to go with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. I can totally see him being an awesome Madarin!

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/141/caryhiroyukitagawa1yt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Um, ****-to-the-NO!!

Andy Lau would be a awesome Mandarin
Speaks english and his one of Hong Kongs best actors.

http://web2.seventymm.com/images/ActorImage/191930.jpg

http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/warlords-andy-lau.jpg http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2005/10/11/andy-lau2.jpg

Perfect! :up:

[bethehero7404]

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0846480/)

It is such the type casting though. He may have to be taller though. Not sure The Mandarin is human, so they can easily go for computer generated. Not familar with villains of Iron Man, just saw the animated movie and the movie this weekend. I am truly a fan now.

[GL1]

This is the second time this week someone has wanted to CGI a character just to make them taller, as though people haven't been doing this with camera tricks for years.

Case in point: Tom Cruise. He's 5'5", but he you wouldn't guess that because height just isn't hard to fake in a movie. Height is a non-issue, and it's been that way for a long time.

[FaT_tONle]

Cruise is 5'5??? U serious?

[Armored Avenger]

You dont need CGI to change peoples sizes in films. Look at The Hobbits. That was all camera trciks and different size props and sets. They only used CGI for the head replacement shots on the scale doubles when all the other tricks would not work.

[GL1]

Cruise is 5'5??? U serious?

I exaggerated. He's actually 5'6." Point is, height, especially when you get in the 6' range is open season.

[The Guard]

Chow Yun Fat. It's the obvious choice, but he'd also fit the role.

[athena]

Chow Yun Fat would be awesome, he was wasted in Pirates 3 but in this he'd have way more screen time. He was amazing as the emperor in Curse of the Golden Flower, really menacing.

Ken Watanabe would be great, too.

[Leto]

Jason Scott Lee?

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3554/07kathayandjasonscottlegz6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3554/07kathayandjasonscottlegz6.313773eb78.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=169&i=07kathayandjasonscottlegz6.jpg)

[TheVileOne]

Tagawa played a Hand higher-up in ELEKTRA. In other words, he's out.

[FaT_tONle]

I exaggerated. He's actually 5'6." Point is, height, especially when you get in the 6' range is open season.

I just figured Kidman and Holmes were taller than average...

[The Senator]

Ken Watanabe would be the best choice, in my opinion, but I don't think he'd take it, since he's already been cast as "typical Asian villain" before. They'd be better off going with an unknown, or little-known, Eastern actor.

[bethehero7404]

You dont need CGI to change peoples sizes in films. Look at The Hobbits. That was all camera trciks and different size props and sets. They only used CGI for the head replacement shots on the scale doubles when all the other tricks would not work.

I never said that they needed to use CGI to make him taller...if you see the animated Iron Man (which is the only true representation that I have seen) The Mandarin takes over the body of a girl (can't recall the name) that Tony likes and The Mandarin never takes human form, just a spirit.

So that was where I was coming from. It is limited knowledge of Iron Man, but I am quickly learning.

[Spider-Fan]

Ken Watanabe is great, but with him as the fake Ra's, I say don't go with him. Get someone else.

[Gatchamanjp]

Donnie Yen for...The Mandarin.

[Superhero 101]

I'd go with Any Lau he is perfect!!

[JokerLedger]

HIROYUKI SANADA
http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Hiroyuki_Sanada/hiroyuki_sanada.jpg

LEE BYUNG HUN (currently Storm Shadow in GI JOE)
http://www.wmstyle.jp/archives/mugibatake/IMG_1609.jpg

[CorpusBlack]

Donnie Yen for...The Mandarin.

I love Yen but I don't think he's right for it.

[spiderfan970]

yeah...Any Lau ftw.

[Anubis Raptor]

http://www.ninjahpro.com/i/cary1.jpg





Perfect......

[Hypestyle]

chow yun fat-- get him at all costs.. either him, or the guy who played the 'fake' Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins...


...they could give the new Mandarin a background of being educated in the west (England), and returning to his homeland to take over the far east..

[spideymouse]

here are the more famous and successful chinese and chinese american actors out there:
Jet Li
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q182/kimmiemimmie_82/JetLi.jpg
Chow Yun Fat
http://www.earthsmightiest.com/images/news/moviestv/Chow%20Yun%20Fat%20in%20Dragonball.jpg
Jackie Chan
http://www.movietoday.net/actor/images/photo/Jackie-Chan450x599,3.jpg
Stephen Chow
http://rocketfuel.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/stephen_chow_6bmp.jpg
Tony Leung
http://orientalis.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/tonyleung2.jpg
B.D. Wong
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/Bikini_Babe06/Wong.jpg

I like Tony Leung cuz he kind of looks like a Chinese Robert Downey Jr. in that picture.

[spideymouse]

BTW, just a shot in the dark by which i will most likely somehow get shot, but what do you all think of a female Mandarin? at least there would be eye-candy, plus jewelry always looks better on a woman, IMO. Also, I just wanted an excuse to post these pics:

zhang ziyi
http://asiandramaddict.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/zhang-ziyi.jpg
michelle yeoh
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/345058557_85a6d6c56f.jpg
lucy liu
http://images.onesite.com/vipnetwork.kiisfm.com/user/sisanie/blog_photos/blog_photos_6/lucycashmeredirtysexy.jpg
ming-na wen
http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/ap/b974c888-204a-42a9-92a3-41e50739a8a4.widec.jpg

haha... love 'em. i pick Michelle Yeoh cuz i think she's the best actor and she's about RDJ's age. She's got presence.

[Iron_Stark]

http://i38.tinypic.com/5pga43.jpg

This guy


And no to the female Mandarin, they tried that in the DVD cartoon movie and it sucked.

Although I wouldn't mind any of those ladies in the next Iron Man movie.

[bigsams50]

Jet Li
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/11/14/mummy-jet-li.jpg

[bigsams50]

If he chooses to do a mandarin

[Mal'Akai]

Chow Yun Fat. It's the obvious choice, but he'd also fit the role.
For the love of....
Chow-Yun Fat is not the only Chinese actor out there. This guy is the lazy man's obvious choice. There are plenty of other actor out there that could fit the role.

[fu manchu]

a BIG NO on the female Mandarin idea.

[strikezone89]

a BIG NO on the female Mandarin idea.
ditto.. a female mandarin is the worst idea ive heard all day... (and ive been on the tdk boards already)

[The Overlord]

Tagawa played a Hand higher-up in ELEKTRA. In other words, he's out.

No one remembers that movie or cares about it.

[lou2099]

A female Mandarin is not a bad idea at all.

As for male actors, lets just make sure he's Chinese, and middle-aged.

[Drizzle]

Chow Yun-Fat is the only man for the job.

[TheVileOne]

Chow Yun-Fat already played in an Asian pirate, Sao Feng, in At World's End.

Jet Li is playing the Dragon Emperor mummy in that stupid Mummy 3 movie.

Watanabe and Tagawa are not Chinese.

I think if they are going to do this character, we need a somewhat fresher face we have not seen in this type of role before.

The Lionsgate/Marvel animated Iron Man movie sort of had a female Mandarin in. Well more like she was the physical medium for the Mandarin's spirit.

[spideymouse]

Chow Yun-Fat already played in an Asian pirate, Sao Feng, in At World's End.

Jet Li is playing the Dragon Emperor mummy in that stupid Mummy 3 movie.

Watanabe and Tagawa are not Japanese.

I think if they are going to do this character, we need a somewhat fresher face we have not seen in this type of role before.

The Lionsgate/Marvel animated Iron Man movie sort of had a female Mandarin in. Well more like she was the physical medium for the Mandarin's spirit.
You mean they ARE Japanese. They're not Chinese.

For me, I want a fresh face. There are countless Asian actors that never see the light of day in movies because to this day Hollywood is still predominantly white. Bring up any minority, and there are maybe 5 names mentioned, if that many. Sad =(

[BATZARRO WWD]

It depends a lot on what they are going for with Mandarin, but Collin Chou or Robin Shou sound like good choices...

[ANTOINE X]

Jet Li
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/11/14/mummy-jet-li.jpg

A big NO!

[ANTOINE X]

I know that cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa(I'll be damn if I spell it right) look pretty much like Mandarin but I m gonna go with Hiroyuki_Sanada, he has a better acting skills to me.

http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Hiroyuki_Sanada/hiroyuki_sanada.jpg

[fu manchu]

^ i recently watched Rush Hour 3, i think he'll be good.

[Beanjuice]

http://www.ninjahpro.com/i/cary1.jpg





Perfect......


"Iron man...YOUR SOUL IS MINE!!!"

[He-Man]

Black Widow, Whiplash/Crinsom Dynamo, Justin Hammer but not one word on Mandarin???? Are we going to get him or just another 10 rings reference?

[Chewy]

Mandarin is being saved for Iron Man 3

I wouldn't be surprised if we got a cameo this go-round, though

[bossman550]

^ me niether

[PumpkinBombxXx]

Sonny Chiba is the Mandarin check him out in Storm Riders he plays Conquer and looks just like him Long hair, robe and all. Although i could see Jet Li playing him i remember when Mandarin was in the script for the first movie and Favreau implied they already cast him and we would all be excited to see who it was

[bossman550]

^ Favreau said that

[PumpkinBombxXx]

yeah way back before they started filming the first Iron Man the Mandarin was in the script and left messeages and **** on tony's voice mail (guessing the Mandarin was some type of over seas buisness tycoon). Im pretty sure it was just going to be a cameo but Favreau had someone for the part

[bossman550]

oooooooo

[tryp09]

"Iron man...YOUR SOUL IS MINE!!!"


hahaha. The only way Tony would be able to beat Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa would be via bicycle kick into point blank fireball.

I think the Mandarin not speaking any English at all would be kind of neat. Something different and it's not like we necessarily need dialogue between the Mandarin and Tony. As long as S.H.I.E.L.D is feeding Tony with information the whole time, the plot progresses. Throw in subtitles where needed and the occasional language translating JARVIS computer, and we got ourselves an epic!

[MichaelChen]

A pity Clancy Brown is white. He'd be perfect as The Mandarin. He's got that exactly the right voice for Mandarin: intelligent yet barbaric and almost beastial. Alas, he is white, so he's out. Sonny Chiba is my next choice. Almost as good a voice, and Asian to boot.

[bossman550]

jackie chan. muhahaha

[kedrell]

Sony Chiba is an interesting idea. A bit older than I was imagining the Mandarin to be but it could work. I thought he was great in Kill Bill.

[Stripesy Strip]

I know he played the fake Ra's in Batman but Ken Watanabe is a better choice for a variety of reasons. One being most oriental actors are short and he's one of the few tall ones. Also he has the commanding presence to lead an army.

[Iron_Stark]

Chow Yun-Fat for Mandarin.

[tryp09]

Need an unknown IMO... any familiar faces will take away from the foreignness of the character. We need a villain that we know nothing about and is absolutely terrifying.

[bossman550]

^ yeah that true.

[kedrell]

Since Mandy won't be showing up until IM3 sometime after 2012(unless he has a cameo to foreshadow his involvement more in IM2) then I think I could reverse my stance on Wanatabe being the Mandarin. I know he could hit it out of the park, but because of Batman Begins I had figured him to be off-limits. But that would be a space of at least 8 years since he played the fake Ra's Al Ghul and since he was just a fake he really didn't get a chance to shine as the main villain. I think the time space between films coupled with Mandarin not being shown in a similar light to the fake Ra's could make it work. So I'm on board with Ken as the Mandarin.

[Rich Santoro]

I like Collin Chou... The guy played Seraph in the Matrix. That has to count for something :yay:

http://cache.reelzchannel.com/assets/content/article/chou.jpg
But maybe something more like Shang Tsung's attire in Mortal Kombat... Make it more contemporary, but still with flair.

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/mk/images/thumb/7/7e/Shangtsung23.png/150px-Shangtsung23.png

BD Wong would be great if they go with a cut-throat business man angle.

Leung is also pretty good no matter the theme for Mandarin.

[He-Man]

Still no news? :csad:

[Mr. Earle]

"Iron man...YOUR SOUL IS MINE!!!"
i was just about to post that!!!

Your soul is mine!!! Hahahahaha!

[PumpkinBombxXx]

http://www.ninjahpro.com/i/cary1.jpg





Perfect......
you cant use Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa because he's the leader of the Hand in Elektra. I know that the films by fox arent connected to the ones being done by marvel and i also know Elektra sucked huge balls but still. Its the Marvel U no matter how you look at it. Outside of Ryan Reynolds (simply because no one else can be Deadpool and he was already in blade) they shouldnt use the same people for differnt parts in marvel movies that would be like fox getting RDJ to play Black Tom Cassidy in the X-Men movies

[Steve Holt]

Hiroyuki Sanada for sure, he was great in Sunshine

[protocida]

No one remembers Elektra (Even tough I like the movie).

[samsnee]

I don't think we're getting Mandarin in this series. After IM2, the next time we see IM will be Avengers, and I don't see Mandarin being the main villain in that.

[protocida]

He'll be the villain in Iron Man 3.

[Ironfan72]

I think Mandarin will be the villain in IM3, but to be honest, I really think Favreau is struggling with how he will present the character. He has said Iron Man works in the real world and Mandarin is more mystical, even though Mandarins rings are alien in origin, Mandarin has always surrounded himself with magic and been anti-technology.
Now, I think Mandarin will be influenced greatly by how Thor comes off, since Thor is not more mythical and not real world like Iron man and even Captain America.