Ben Kingsley is The Mandarin!

[Chewy]

I don't know, the organization was called the 10 rings. So I'm pretty sure the rings will have been around for a while

[cherokeesam]

Originally Posted by Chewy

I don't know, the organization was called the 10 rings. So I'm pretty sure the rings will have been around for a while

Yeah, if the rings turn out to be alien in origin, it *won't* be as a result of the Chitauri Invasion of Manhattan. The Ten Rings organization predates that battle by three years.

[ironmaidenrules]

Unless he always had ten rings for some ancient reason and he then crafts the alien tech into the rings

[cherokeesam]

Originally Posted by ironmaidenrules

Unless he always had ten rings for some ancient reason and he then crafts the alien tech into the rings

Yeah.....no.

But Iron Maiden *does* rule.

[IronGirl299]

Huh, I didn't hear a lot about Iron Maiden...she was some sort of Russian chick, right?

[ironmaidenrules]

Originally Posted by cherokeesam

Yeah.....no.

But Iron Maiden *does* rule.

Yes they do indeed. I guess the real question is why hasn't mandarin attacked yet if he always had the rings, why now? What changed? What's the master plan? If it's just ****ing with Tony he could have done that earlier

[cherokeesam]

Originally Posted by ironmaidenrules

Yes they do indeed. I guess the real question is why hasn't mandarin attacked yet if he always had the rings, why now? What changed? What's the master plan? If it's just ****ing with Tony he could have done that earlier

I'm hoping there'll be a big secret revealed showing why Mandarin has any interest in Tony at all. I'm sure it derives from some old history with Howard somewhere along the line that has yet to be divulged.

Because honestly, there's nothing in IM1 or IM2 that gives Mandarin a real motive to go **** with Tony. The plan in IM1 was simple enough, to kidnap Tony and force him to build weapons for the Ten Rings. Plus, on the other hand, Stane wanted Tony dead so he could take over the family business. Once that plot backfired in their faces, Stane was the only one who tried to seek revenge against Tony, or at least try to finish what Raza could not.

In IM2, there's no real hint that Mandarin or the Ten Rings are still trying to mess with Tony Stark, nor do they have any real reason to. Revenge? For what? For a failed mission carried out by two bosses who are now dead (Stane and Raza)? It was a calculated risk that blew up in their faces....Mandarin has nothing to gain by "punishing" Tony for daring to escape from his deathtrap.

Seriously, I see nothing in IM1 or IM2 that would cultivate a seething hatred for Tony Stark in Mandarin. I honestly think Mandy could care less about Tony, other than being mildly irritated that he lost a few semi-valuable sub-bosses and a base in Afghanistan due to Iron Man's intervention. So the only motivation I can see for Mandarin going after Tony is something much older, something that may involve Howard Stark. Or, maybe even something cosmic --- if the ten (actual) rings *are* alien in origin, and predate the Chitauri Invasion, maybe there's something there that makes the rings point to Stark as someone important to their alien creators.

[Chewy]

Or maybe Mandy is funding Killian and Hansen's Extremis research and Tony starts getting all up in their business. Seems pretty simple.

[Dark Raven]

Yeah, in these Bond movies, the villain often tries to kill Bond several times, even though he may never have heard of Bond before he started interfering with his plans. It's not always an age-old personal vendetta, just that if Bond starts becoming a problem, the villain wants to get rid of him, and unsuccessful attempts just makes the villain want to try harder.

Like Sean Bean's character Alec Trevelyan said in Goldeneye "why can't you just be a good boy and die?"

Or Hugo Drax in Moonraker: "Mr Bond, you persist in defying my efforts to plan an amusing death for you."

Or Drax again: "James Bond. You appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season."

[spideymouse]

Originally Posted by Dark Raven

Yeah, in these Bond movies, the villain often tries to kill Bond several times, even though he may never have heard of Bond before he started interfering with his plans. It's not always an age-old personal vendetta, just that if Bond starts becoming a problem, the villain wants to get rid of him, and unsuccessful attempts just makes the villain want to try harder.

Like Sean Bean's character Alec Trevelyan said in Goldeneye "why can't you just be a good boy and die?"

Or Hugo Drax in Moonraker: "Mr Bond, you persist in defying my efforts to plan an amusing death for you."

Or Drax again: "James Bond. You appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season."

I guess the previous poster's point was that they might want to tie Mandarin into the first two movies and show that he has really been Iron Man's nemesis this whole time. I do think they should tie him into IM1 with the Ten Rings in some capacity, but he doesn't necessarily need to be tied to Vanko.

[Dark Raven]

Originally Posted by spideymouse

I guess the previous poster's point was that they might want to tie Mandarin into the first two movies and show that he has really been Iron Man's nemesis this whole time. I do think they should tie him into IM1 with the Ten Rings in some capacity, but he doesn't necessarily need to be tied to Vanko.

I understand what the previous poster was saying and it's fine to tie him into the first couple of movies. What I'm saying is that he doesn't need a personal vendetta that goes beyond IM foiling his plans in those 2 movies or some grudge against Howard Stark.

[Chewy]

Him being in charge of the 10 Rings organization is enough of a tie-in IMO. Trying to give him a personal stake in the other two movies' events feels way too George Lucasy

[spideymouse]

Originally Posted by Chewy

Him being in charge of the 10 Rings organization is enough of a tie-in IMO. Trying to give him a personal stake in the other two movies' events feels way too George Lucasy

Agreed. Actually, feels too Sand Raimi-y.

[cherokeesam]

Originally Posted by Chewy

Or maybe Mandy is funding Killian and Hansen's Extremis research and Tony starts getting all up in their business. Seems pretty simple.

Except Tony doesn't get all up in their business. Killian swallowed a self-inflicted bullet, and Maya *asked* him to come and investigate the suicide. So it's not like he's meddling somewhere he's not wanted.

[Chewy]

This is not the comics? It's an adaptation?

I think it's pretty safe to say they didn't hire Guy Pearce to play a single-scene part

[godisawesome]

I could see Mandarin being irritated that Tony has persisted in transforming himself into a world-wide heroic character, and that he almost undoubtedly sees Iron Man as a singular threat to his international goals.

Remember how Iron Mn makes his first public appearance tearing apart a separate Ten Rings operation that somehow involved the seizing of territory in the Middle East. Not some terrorist operation; they were actively carving out a fief for themselves.

Ten bucks says the Mandarin has some world-wide scheme in which he sees the technologically inclined Stark as a far bigger threat than any of the other Avengers, and so he makes a preemptive strike against Stark that ends up being merely the first salvo in their private war.

[pr0xyt0xin]

so i guess no one thought of anything cool enough in time to circumvent the inevitable "armored Mandarin?" sigh. I guess as long as he has some bad ass weaponry in the fingers/hands. also, he better not be some Eastern tech genius.

Is the armor really going to be silver? making the Mark I, Mark II/Rhodey, Iron Monger, and Whiplash all silver or metallic grey wasnt enough? They couldnt do black or green or purple or something? I'll guess i will save some sighs for when i see it.

[The Caped Knight]

I'm liking the character description for "The Mandarin" by Feige.



But this version of The Mandarin will not follow that same backstory, said Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios. Don’t expect aliens, even though The Avengers and Thor opened up this unified cinematic world to the presence of extra-terrestrials.
Iron Man 3 will be more about a clash of technology, Feige says and those who have been paying close attention to the previous two films know that The Ten Rings is a term for the terrorist group that kidnapped Tony Stark in the first movie, and gave the villain Whiplash some assistance in the sequel.
In that way, The Mandarin (who for a time was going to be the main villain in the first film) has been a part of the Iron Man series from the beginning, albeit as the off-screen manipulator.
“A lot of this movie is about characters going back into the shadows for various reasons and characters who have been in the shadows coming out and into the light for the first time,” Feige says. “It is Tony who, for various reasons, finds himself receding into the darkness. I don’t mean emotional darkness, I mean literally ducking out of the spotlight. And we’ll see other characters stepping up who have pulled strings from the background, starting to show their hand.”
Kingsley is not, of course, Chinese, but Feige says they wanted to blur the background of this version of The Mandarin. “It’s less about his specific ethnicity than the symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end,” Feige says. From his samurai hair, to his royal robe, to his bin Laden-esque beard, and the AK-47 he keeps at his side, Kingsley’s interpretation is a hodgepodge of various warrior motifs.
In his attempt to rid the world of its oppressors by replacing them, The Mandarin considers himself a twisted version of absolute good.
“Don’t all good villains?” says Feige.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/10/2...in-first-look/

[MarvelKnight]

He looks awesome.

[Webfoot Hero]

I'm really hoping that the Ten Rings is not actually rings he manipulates and is really just ten different organizations that form The Mandarin's entire criminal network.

[The Caped Knight]

Originally Posted by Webfoot Hero

I'm really hoping that the Ten Rings is not actually rings he manipulates and is really just ten different organizations that form The Mandarin's entire criminal network.

That could work out well and he could still have ten power rings that have element properties that give him powers (Fire, Water, Earth etc....)

[Incredible Hans]

He looks awesome indeed.

But if someone had shown me that picture and had told me that Ben Kingsley is going to play one of the 13 dwarves in the Hobbit movie, I would have believed it.

[marcvader]

He definitely looks more dwarvish than some of them.

[Destructus86]

Had my doubts about how he would love...but now that we have the first pic my fears are completely gone. This is gonna be a great movie.

[The Infernal]

Personally I hope he actually has ten rings and it isn't just a euphemism for the organisation itself.