Iron Man 2 Official Mandarin Casting Thread

[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.

 

[bruce_kent]

Colin Chou is the perfect choice to the mandarin, look this comparative pictures:

Bye

 

[Jostru]

The first thing that is needed is The Avengers, so we can see how the whole mystical thing works in combination with Iron Man. After that I can definitely see Mandarin as the main villain for IM3. And to be honest, I wouldn't mind if The Mandarin showed some resemblance to his IM:Armored Adventures counterpart...

 

[gwynplaine]

Zhang Ziyi.

 

[Rich Santoro]

I second Colin Chou

 

[MichaelChen]

I'd go with Clancy Brown. The Mandarin is the heir of Genghis Khan, a brutal Goodfella thug, and a Sho'Nuff style psychotic kung fu villain. He should be played by someone with a deep, gravelly, thuggish voice.

And before anyone goes off on me about race, the character is supposed to be half-white. So an actor of either race is acceptable. You just say he takes after the parent whose race the actor shares.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I think Clancy Brown is a great actor, but even setting race aside, he's not right for the Mandarin. He's a big, burly bruiser of a man. He's rumored to be playing Lobo in the upcoming movie, and he fits that part. But The Mandarin, as a master martial artist, should be more lithe and graceful.

 

[MichaelChen]

Except he's not really protrayed as the bouncing kind of lithe martial artist. He's portrayed as the kind of big, brutal bullying martial arts villain type. The sort exemplified by Sho'Nuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnsg0jDbHk4

He's a martial artist, but he's the kind of big, cruel, martial arts villain that is as much about savagery as skill.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Except he's not really protrayed as the bouncing kind of lithe martial artist. He's portrayed as the kind of big, brutal bullying martial arts villain type. The sort exemplified by Sho'Nuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnsg0jDbHk4

He's a martial artist, but he's the kind of big, cruel, martial arts villain that is as much about savagery as skill.

I don't know, my reaction to that is something like the kid at 0:43.

Yes, martial arts can be hard and brutal, but it's still martial arts, and I just don't see Clancy Brown - who is now 50, and to my knowledge has no martial arts experience - being able to convincingly do any fight scenes showcasing The Mandarin's mad skills. And though you may indeed be half-white in the comics, he's always been depicted as Asian in appearance, certainly not a blue-collar white guy like Clancy Brown. Look at the uproar there's been over a black Heimdall - when that character's color is pretty inconsequential - so imagine the hysteria over a guy called THE MANDARIN being white.

Clancy Brown is a great actor, but he's just not The Mandarin. It's trying to ram a very square peg into a very round hole.

 

[Iron_Stark]

I second Colin Chou

Son of a *****

I third Colin Chou.

Anyone with a twitter account, please send that pic to Favreau.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I've said this before, but the trickiest thing about The Mandarin is going to be the casting. Not just in finding a good actor for the part, but a good actor who - to the general public - seems like an exciting escalation in the villain stakes. Think about it:

Iron Man 1: Jeff Bridges
Iron Man 2: Mickey Rourke
Iron Man 3: .......Colin Chou!?!?!

It's not going to be easy finding someone with a similar level of status and acclaim as Bridges or Rourke, someone who can seem like a match for Robert Downey Jr in terms of performance, as well as in how much of a threat their character is. In terms of Asian actors as well known amongst American audiences as those big names, actors who could maintain the "starry ensemble" vibe, the only two names I can think of are Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and neither are what I'd call ideal fits for The Mandarin.

 

[protocida]

They can always cast a relative unknow as the Mandarin and a famous actor as one of the other villains.

 

[Keyser Soze]

They can always cast a relative unknow as the Mandarin and a famous actor as one of the other villains.

Yeah, that's a possible solution. Make it a two-villain movie, and get a big name to play Ghost, or whoever the second villain would end up being.

 

[protocida]

Yep. t:

 

[Chewy]

Andy Lau as Mandarin is an awesome suggestion

 

[MichaelChen]

Aw Hellll naw! This soft-voiced girly-man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqbehAWNeZg&feature=PlayList&p=5CD401645B50E921&index=0&playnext=1 is NOT The Mandarin!

 

[Chewy]

He is an actor, he is capable of changing the pitch of his voice.

 

[Rich Santoro]

For actor with presence and impact that can match up against Bridges and Rourke... perhaps Chow Yun Fat would be an alternative to Colin (whom I still prefer):

Even though he is not Chinese... I have always like Cary-Hiroyuki

 

[protocida]

Chow-Yun Fat would be VERY cool.

 

[Superhero 101]

Definietely Chow Yun Fat because people need a face they could recognize.

 

[omega_man]

what about Russell Wong

i like Colin Chou or Chow Yun-Fat for the Mandarin

 

[Chewy]

Definietely Chow Yun Fat because people need a face they could recognize.

Why?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Even though he is not Chinese... I have always like Cary-Hiroyuki

Wow, now THERE'S a trip down memory lane. Showdown in Little Tokyo! t:

If it were the 90s, he'd be a great choice, but in his recent Heroes appearance it looked like the years hadn't been too kind to him.