About 10 months ago, hot off all the hype from ‘Prometheus’, Guy Pearce joined the cast of Shane Black’s ‘Iron Man 3’ as Aldrich Killian, the co-creator of the Extremis virus alongside Maya Hansen, played by Rebecca Hall. In the comic book story arc by Warren Ellis that the film is based on, Killian was a very minor character that met his end early on in the story, but with such a big name like Pearce attached to the role, it appeared that the writers expanded the character and his part in the story. Now, thanks to Empire Magazine’s latest issue, we can partially confirm the beefed up nature of the role, as well as some plot details from a small portion of the film.
Due to the revelatory nature of these details, they are considered SPOILERS, so if you’re not into that sort of thing, you should proceed with caution. You have been warned.
In what’s appearing to be their ‘Iron Man 3’ issue as indicated by the previously released cover, Empire has revealed some details about 15-minutes of footage that they were shown in preparation for their coverage. They describe the scene as showing an interaction between Tony Stark and a young boy played by ‘Insidious’ actor Ty Simpkins. Additionally, the write-up talks about Aldrich Killian’s alignment with The Mandarin and the impact the scientist is going to make in the film. Here’s the excerpt from the magazine:
The scene ends with Stark, bloodied and dazed, flying away not entirely in control of his malfunctioning prototype. He lands hundreds of miles away in a snowy field, where, out of power, he can’t get in touch with Pepper. Or Rhodey. Or The Avengers, neatly sidestepping that question.
Breaking into a deserted-looking garage, the tone then zigzags again as Tony is startled by a ten year-old kid, Harley (Ty Simpkins) sparking what [Drew] Pearce calls the film’s “sci-fi Capra” phase. “We loved the idea of doing something classically Spielbergian – a kid finds a superhero in a shed. Their relationship is not something you would traditionally see in Spielberg, though; it’s bawdier, more fractious.”
Extremis is a scientific program invented by Hansen and abused by the Mandarin and his right-hand man, Guy Pearce’s slimy Aldrich Killian. It rewrites the operating system of the body, upgrading strength, speed and durability to the very zenith of human possibility.
“We’re calling it a biological reality and there’s a science behind it that allows people to glow and rip apart Iron Man suits,” says Feige. “Frankly, Shane was not interested, and we were not interested, in having another armoured character and another armoured character fight. We’ve done that twice before.”
Based on this description, the writers have probably combined Pearce’s character of Killian with Mallen, the willing test subject for Extremis that develops superhuman strength, speed, durability, and the ability to breath fire. This wouldn’t be the first time that they’ve combined characters in an Iron Man movie as they did the same thing with Mickey Rourke’s character by combining Whiplash and the Crimson Dynamo to create the villain in ‘Iron Man 2’.
What do you think of Guy Pearce’s role in ‘Iron Man 3’ after reading that? Are you glad that the Armored Avenger is moving on from armored enemies? Does anyone else think that Fing Fang Foom should’ve been worked into this movie somehow? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
‘Iron Man 3’ starring Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, and Guy Pearce opens on May 3, 2013.
Source: Comic Book Movie