This is safe to talk about by now right? If not, and by some miracle you are reading this not knowing the Mandarin related twist in Iron Man 3, MAJOR SPOILERS from here on in.
Okay? So as anyone who's read this far will know, Shane Black and screenwriter Drew Pearce decided not to use the ACTUAL Mandarin (unless you count Aldrich Killian..and if you do, don't!) in the movie. Ben Kingsley's initially unsettling villain was actually a smokescreen, and turned out to be a hired actor named Trevor. Funny reveal no doubt, but it understandably pissed off a lot of comic fans who were eagerly anticipating seeing Iron Man's arch nemesis on the big screen after a 2 movie buildup. Well Black explains and defends the decision to Screenrant, and even if you are one of the fans that was annoyed, I think you'll have to admit that -- from a story standpoint at least -- it makes sense.
“I would say that we struggled to find a way to present a mythic terrorist that had something about him that registered after the movie’s over as having been a unique take, or a clever idea, or a way to say something of use. And what was of use about the Mandarin’s portrayal in this movie, to me, is that it offers up a way that you can sort of show how people are complicit in being frightened. They buy into things in the way that the audience for this movie buys into it. And hopefully, by the end you’re like, ‘Yeah, we were really frightened of the Mandarin, but in the end he really wasn’t that bad after all.’ In fact, the whole thing was just a product of this anonymous, behind-the-scenes guy. I think that’s a message that’s more interesting for the modern world because I think there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes, a lot of fear, that’s generated toward very available and obvious targets, which could perhaps be directed more intelligently at what’s behind them.”
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.