Iron Man director Jon Favreau told Comic-Con attendees that Mandarin will be the villain of the film.
In the films, the Mandarin is a throwback to Imperial China who mixes sorcery and alien science to try to destroy Iron Man, the West's greatest weapon. His rings of power command 10 different energy sources.
On the Marvel panel, Favreau added that he'd be sticking with the origin story of Tony (Iron Man) Stark initially. He'll start off with the gray metal suit, since he builds it as a prisoner of war, just as in the comics. "The more modern red and yellow suit will appear in the film and Favreau aims to make it more of a RoboCop-type feel instead of a Power Ranger-style suit," according to a Superhero Hype source.
"The suit will be more like a weapons platform than a flying suit more of a War Machine-feel to it," said Favreau.
Look for the Paramount picture May 2, 2008.
Meanwhile, the teaser poster of Iron Man given out at the convention is now online. Check it out below:
And, a new Iron Man cartoon series is in the works to precede the movie, according to Variety.
The series would come out next fall, the trade paper said.