Last week, while out promoting ‘Ender’s Game’, Sir Ben Kingsley revealed a tantalizing morsel of news regarding his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor revealed that he was working on a “secret Marvel project”, presumably reprising his role as “The Mandarin” AKA Trevor Slattery. There was plenty of speculation as to what this project was, but now the most recent rumors seem to lean towards an appearance in a new Marvel One-Shot short film.
Based on the latest reports from Latino Review, Kingsley has indeed filmed a One-Shot continuing the story of his character from ‘Iron Man 3’. But what does the content of this short entail? Well, that bit is a SPOILER if this ends up being true, so consider this your warning.
According to their sources, Trevor the drug-addicted actor and Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce in Tony Stark’s last feature, are in big trouble with the real Mandarin, who is absolutely livid about the mockery that the two of them made of his identity and legacy. Yes, your eyes did not deceive you. I did say the REAL Mandarin and he wants to “set the record straight”.
There’s no word on how the record will be set straight, but this is quite an interesting turn of events. When news first emerged about the Mandarin entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio said time and time again that it would not be the same character as seen in the comics. Then, when the film finally came out, the audience was divided as to whether or not they liked what Shane Black had done with the legendary Iron Man foe. So, if this report is true, then it looks like Marvel is looking to appease those fans that hated the film’s version of the character and bring in the version with the dragons, power rings, and such that fans have known and loved for years.
To be honest, I’m not quite sure why Marvel would be undoing that awesome swerve from ‘Iron Man 3’. Sure, some people hated it, but I’ve heard more love for it than hate. Plus, the twist was such a great modern take that fit in with the mythology created for the movie version of Tony Stark. However, with ‘Thor: The Dark World’ coming out soon and talks of ‘Doctor Strange’ being part of Phase Three, it’s not entirely far-fetched to hear that they’re starting to bring in more mystical characters into their movie universe. And if this is the case, then the One-Shots, which have mostly been comedic supplements to the movies, could be starting to serve a different purpose moving forward.
What do you think about this latest rumor about the REAL Mandarin appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? If this is actually happening, what do you think will happen to Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery? Are you in favor of the classic comic version of the villain finally appearing on screen? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
