Iron Man Mandarin is being played by...??

[Cinemaman]

So how old is Shaun Toub?

 

[Tiger_Hoods]

Might be premeditated, but if you check out IMDB, it has Toub as Mandarin.

 

[Leto]

The imdb is about as reliable as well, the imdb. They update based on rumors. Of course, knowing my luck, Shaun Toub will turn out to be the Mandarin.

 

[the reel chris]

No one in any official capacity updated the IMDB naming Toub as Mandy. Hell, the "official sites" section still doesn't have www.ironmanmovie.com listed. (I tried weeks ago, still nothing).

 

[Leto]

Nicholas Cage to play the Mandarin! I have Proof!

He's got the mad Fu Manchu look down.

 

[Chris B]

You know, I've recently have begun to think that maybe there is some truth to this. As far as casting the Mandarin goes, it makes no sense to me as to why they would wait until they were already filming to cast the villain of the film. Plus, the casting call called for a Central Asian actor for Gene Kahn, and an Iranian actor such as Shaun Toub would fit the bill.

 

[He-Man]

http://persianmirror.com/Article_de...eCategory=79&getArticleSubCategory=233#Target


It seems that another fellow Persian Compatriot Shaun Toub ( Crash, The Nativity Story) is paving his way to becoming the next Super Villian The Mandarin in the Upcoming Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr in the title role. Iron Man is a Super hero who is in reality a troubled billionaire by the name of Tony Stark who creates a life support suit to assist him after a life threatening accident and who ultimately decides to use its technology to fight evil and crime. A surprising and exciting choice for Toub who is best known for his tormented role in Paul Haggis’ Oscar Winning film Crash. After playing aside fellow actor and compatriot Shohreh Aghdashloo in the Christian Epic The Nativity Story, Toub has just finished shooting in The Kite Runner based on the best selling novel by an Afghan author Khaled Hosseini and directed by Mark Foster director of the excellent Johnny Depp movie Finding Neverland.

 

[Chris B]

Interesting to see this being reported again. As always, we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[the reel chris]

LOL, the IMDB now says Toub is playing "Yinsin"

 

[Casius--J]

When i first heard about him being cast i immedietly thought he'd be playing the mandarin.

Its very strange that we havent heard anything about the casting of the mandarin thats why i thought it was him and looks like there might be some truth to that.

All we can do is wait and see.

 

[Ironfan72]

Agreed, imdb.com changed his role from Mandarin to Yinsin, but honestly with that site, imdb use's fan's to report info, at least until the studio says one way or the other, which has not happened yet with Shaun Toub, so a wait and see approach is the way to go.

 

[Nepenthes]

Part of that doesn't make sense. If that's the case then why would be be called The Mandarin? The word means a particular form of the Chinese langauge, among other things.

His name doesn't refer to the Chinese language. It's an official title for a high level bureaucrat or scholar.



Wikipedia for the Mandarin (comics)

As an adult he became a high government official, or mandarin, and became renowned throughout China for his administrative brilliance.

Wikipedia for 'Mandarin(bureaucrat)'

In the West, the term "Mandarin" is associated with the concept of the scholar-official, who immersed himself in poetry, literature, and Confucian learning in addition to performing civil service duties.
...
In modern English, "Mandarin" is also used to refer to any (though usually a senior) civil servant, often in a satirical context, and particularly in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries.

Maybe Stark&co will nickname him 'the Mandarin' in a teasing, belittling kind of way, it doesn't have to be an official position.

 

[Chris B]

When i first heard about him being cast i immedietly thought he'd be playing the mandarin.

Its very strange that we havent heard anything about the casting of the mandarin thats why i thought it was him and looks like there might be some truth to that.

All we can do is wait and see.

Plus, the casting call called for a Central Asian actor. So an Iranian actor wouldn't be that outlandish.

 

[Chris B]

Maybe Stark&co will nickname him 'the Mandarin' in a teasing, belittling kind of way, it doesn't have to be an official position.

I more or less agree. I think the name "The Mandarin" will likely be a nickname in someway.

 

[WorthyStevens]

More proof(?) Toub is playing Mandarin:

Jon Favreau's rendition of "Iron Man," which also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Leslie Bibb, and Shaun Toub as The Mandarin, and opens next summer.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=414921

 

[ClarkLuther55]

I really, really hope this isn't true. Everything else I'm hearing and seeing about this movie has me excited, but this one thing has me worried.

Sure, updating the origin and moving it to the Middle East instead of Vietnam may be good. But that doesn't mean that a character whose name, appearance, and backstory centers around a certain area should be changed. Mandarin wasn't even involved in Iron Man's origin, although they may want to mix him into it for the purposes of having a single cohesive plot in the movie. If they're going to turn Mandarin into just another Middle Eastern terrorist (except he has rings!), then I'd rather have them not calling him the Mandarin. Just make him an original villain and make Obadiah Stane the guy pulling the strings.

 

[Cinemaman]

I really, really hope this isn't true. Everything else I'm hearing and seeing about this movie has me excited, but this one thing has me worried.

Sure, updating the origin and moving it to the Middle East instead of Vietnam may be good. But that doesn't mean that a character whose name, appearance, and backstory centers around a certain area should be changed. Mandarin wasn't even involved in Iron Man's origin, although they may want to mix him into it for the purposes of having a single cohesive plot in the movie. If they're going to turn Mandarin into just another Middle Eastern terrorist (except he has rings!), then I'd rather have them not calling him the Mandarin. Just make him an original villain and make Obadiah Stane the guy pulling the strings.

So you think Chinese would rule the group of Mid Eastern terrorists? Are you crazy?

Toub looks like a very good choice, he has a talent and the look, I have no problem with him.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

So you think Chinese would rule the group of Mid Eastern terrorists? Are you crazy?

Mandarin is a supervillain, he could easily be the terrorists' benefactor behind the scenes. Or, they could just leave Mandarin out of the movie if they don't plan on actually using the character as he appears in the comics, and just save him for the sequel.

Toub looks like a very good choice, he has a talent and the look, I have no problem with him.

Come on, are you serious? I don't even see how this can even be open to personal opinion. Toub is a man with Persian heritage who could pass for white. The Mandarin has always been portrayed with clear Oriental features.

EDIT: I don't like the idea of "The Mandarin" being used as a nickname by Stark and the others. It could very well be confused as a racial slur. Why risk that?

 

[Bubonic]

Sounds like the one thing this movie is going to lack is a poweful super villain figure.

 

[Ironman24]

Sounds like the one thing this movie is going to lack is a poweful super villain figure.

Actually that's not true, in the new Wizard Mega Movie issue, they interview Jon Favreau and he said in a lengthy interveiw that Mandarin will be as powerful and evil in the movie as he is the comics, basically wanting Mandarin to be the super villian he is.

 

[Cinemaman]

Mandarin is a supervillain, he could easily be the terrorists' benefactor behind the scenes. Or, they could just leave Mandarin out of the movie if they don't plan on actually using the character as he appears in the comics, and just save him for the sequel.



Come on, are you serious? I don't even see how this can even be open to personal opinion. Toub is a man with Persian heritage who could pass for white. The Mandarin has always been portrayed with clear Oriental features.

EDIT: I don't like the idea of "The Mandarin" being used as a nickname by Stark and the others. It could very well be confused as a racial slur. Why risk that?

On Myspace Favrau has already said several times that his Mandarin is the head of group of national terrorists, who try to get the advanced technology weapon. Still, yes he is supervillian, but this doesn't matter.

I have no problem with him as actor, who is going to play Mandarin. The center of story takes place in Mid Eastern, where you won't find any Chinese guy being next Saddam Hussein.

 

[ebgdesign]

Toub has always looked more like Yinsen than the Mandarin to me. We'll just have to wait and see. The casting call describied Gene Kahn as being Central Asian not Middle Eastern though.

I think so too.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

On Myspace Favrau has already said several times that his Mandarin is the head of group of national terrorists, who try to get the advanced technology weapon. Still, yes he is supervillian, but this doesn't matter.

I have no problem with him as actor, who is going to play Mandarin. The center of story takes place in Mid Eastern, where you won't find any Chinese guy being next Saddam Hussein.

Making Mandarin a Middle Eastern terrorist is a decision that was not a necessity. Terrorist networks (for example, Al Qaeda) have connections and members all over the world. Mandarin could have been allied to Middle Eastern terrorists, or they could have just not called this villain Mandarin at all.

 

[fu manchu]

Come on, are you serious? I don't even see how this can even be open to personal opinion. Toub is a man with Persian heritage who could pass for white. The Mandarin has always been portrayed with clear Oriental features.

EDIT: I don't like the idea of "The Mandarin" being used as a nickname by Stark and the others. It could very well be confused as a racial slur. Why risk that?

using the word "oriental" is more offensive in describing asians.

 

[TNC9852002]

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