He's back! After being the big plot twist in Iron Man 3, the Marvel menace known as Trevor Slattery is returning in the Marvel One Shot All Hail The King. He was subdued by Tony Stark, and sent to prison as part of a major conspiracy of terrorism, but what's prison like when you're not the world's most feared criminal, but rather a fraud whose been called out? Not too bad it seems!
In the clip, courtesy of USA Today, we see Slattery (Ben Kingsley) getting acquainted with the criminal population of Seagate Prison. And while some aren't impressed by this odd little man with a distinctive haircut and Liverpudlian accent, others are geeking out as he re-enacts one of The Mandarin's catchphrases. But hey, he's not your meat puppet.
English thespian Ben Kingsley has taken on long list of iconic roles. In TV movies he's played Moses and Sweeney Todd. In feature films, he's portrayed everyone from Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi, to Fagin in Oliver Twist and the legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès in Hugo. Yet Trevor "The Mandarin" Slattery may be one of his most beloved. Sure, Slattery is a dope, the willing pawn of the nefarious Aldrich Killian. But his penchant for soccer, sex and drugs made him a welcomed part of Marvel's ever-expanding movie universe.
All Hail The King is a 15-minute short that gives us a little more time and insight into this man behind "The Mandarin." And we're not the only ones who are glad he's back. Speaking of reprising this role for the One-Shot, Kingsley told USA Today:
"I realized I really enjoy playing this total odd concoction of a survivor, a great opportunist and, when you think about it, not a bad actor."
As you can see from the other released clip below, All Hail The King focuses on a rare interview a journalist (Scoot McNairy, who is just about everywhere lately, from Argo to 12 Years A Slave and the upcoming Non-Stop) has secured with Slattery. While there have been rumors that the real Mandarin might surface in Marvel's movies, Kinglsey has said this short will revel in the best and worst of Slattery, offering:
"The worst aspects are the most endearing aspects of Trevor: his vanity, his narcissism, his pomposity, his total indifference to the real world around him. They all come out in this extraordinary interview."
But that's just the beginning. There'll also be flashbacks, espionage, more bonkers hairstyles, and Kinglsey's best Sean Connery impression.
All Hail The King will be released as part of the Thor: The Dark World DVD/Blu-ray special features, available February 25th.
