We first learned of The Mandarin's existence in 2008's Iron Man, but it wasn't until Iron Man 3 five years later that we actually met the villain. Of course, the movie would later reveal that he was just an actor hired by A.I.M.'s Aldrich Killian, with that big bad claiming that he was, in fact, the Mandarin.
Fans weren't happy, but Marvel Studios made it right with the "All Hail The King" One-Shot which confirmed there was a real Mandarin who wasn't best pleased that Trevor Slattery had impersonated him. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, we'll finally get to meet Wenwu played by Tony Leung.
The actor recently spoke to Elle Singapore about his MCU debut, and explained how the villain was reinvented for today. "When [Marvel] offered me the role, what they wanted was for me to create a brand new Mandarin, so I got to develop my character along with the filming," Leung explained. "I’ve never approached Wenwu from a villain’s standpoint. Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He’s a man with a history, who craves to be loved."
"He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he’d turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot."
“When director Destin Daniel Cretton first described the role to me, he said there are many layers to the antagonist role, and hoped that I could come on board," he continued. "I accepted it because of the director. It just felt right. Plus, this is something I’ve never done before, to play an Asian supervillain. A chance to do something for Asia. I thought, why not?"
Unfortunately, the response to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in China has been mostly negative, and it's not expected to secure a release there. COVID is likely to blame for Leung's absence at the recent premiere, though he is a major star in the country so we don't know how much more we'll hear from him about playing Wenwu (who has been praised as a great baddie).
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to be released on September 3.