Adding the Mandarin as a chief adversary was only the beginning.
As promised, Iron Man 3 has begun filming scenes in Beijing, and in the process, has added actor Wang Xuequi for a supporting part, Deadline reports. The actor will play Dr. Wu, an adversary of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and a part that, at one point, belonged to Hong Kong star Andy Lau, though he had to back out before filming began. Calm down, Marvel fans. While Chen Lu is the alter-ego of Radioactive Man in the Marvel universe, Deadline claims that Xuequi’s role is “not a huge part” so this isn’t part of a massive spinoff for Phase Three of the Marvel universe.
Marvel reportedly chose to film in China as part ofa partnership with DMG Entertainment. At Comic-Con, director Shane Black downplayed the amount of manpower that will be used to film the scenes in mainland China, and it isn’t believed that Downey or any of the other major cast members – from Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle to Rebecca Hall – will appear in these scenes.
But it’s probable that scenes will lead into the introduction of the Mandarin, Iron Man’s chief adversary, who will be played in the upcoming sequel by Sir Ben Kingsley. We got a pretty good look at Mandarin in the latest Iron Man 3 trailer, including that mysterious shot of Captain America’s shield. How will that tie in to the overall mythology of Marvel’s still-developing on-screen universe? We’ll have to wait until May 3, 2013 – when Iron Man 3 is expected to storm into theaters.
