Could Iron Man 3 Villain Be The Mandarin?

We haven’t event had an Iron Man 2 trailer or poster yet but that doesn’t seem to matter to the rumour mill, which chugs on, turning out speculation here, there and everywhere. And this time on the block is none other than the yet-to-be-announced IRON MAN 3!

If you remember, 2008′s Iron Man featured a terrorist organisation known as the Ten Rings, at the time director Jon Favreau clearly said that there would be a build up to the first real appearance of the Mandarin, so the following should come as no surprise. Speaking to Moviefone, actor Faran Tahir – who played the leader of the Ten Rings last year said:

“At some point, they want to introduce Mandarin into the storyline and my character, like Mandarin, was the leader of the Ten Rings. We’re leaving it open because, partly, it makes good business sense for us to leave a little bit of uncertainty for people to speculate on.”

“He [Favreau] has known for a long time where he wants to take it and I don’t want to speak for him, but my feeling is that the second movie didn’t want to just follow a singular storyline. They wanted to expand the characters to show that it’s not a linear saga like Lord of the Rings. There’s a linkage somewhere in there, but the big idea is to do at least one more Iron Man movie and then go into The Avengers.”

Based on Favreau’s comments during the PR stint for Iron Man, I’d be a little surprised if there was no reference to the Mandarin or the Ten Rings in Iron Man 2, however whether or not that means he’ll be showing up in Part 3 remains to be seen. Personally I’d prefer to see Mandarin show himself in 2012′s The Avengers.

What do you think? Should the Mandarin make an appearance, complete with ten magic rings, or should fanboy Favreau just leave well alone?

Tags: Faran Tahir, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, jon favreau, Mandarin