Well, we knew there had to be some changes in store after last week's news that Iron Man 3 would be co-financed by and partially shot in China. The immediate speculation was that this meant Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.) would finally face off against his arch-nemesis, The Mandarin, even though director Shane Black hates the character. There still seems to be little chance of that happening, but what we may get is one of their most popular actors in a key supporting role.
NeonPunch(via Twitch) has an inside source at Marvel who says Andy Lau is in final negotiations to join the film, not as a villain but as a Chinese scientist who provides his old friend Stark with advanced technology to defeat his nanobot powered foes, led by Ben Kingsley's character. Lau has led a prolific career, starring in more than 160 movies while balancing a singing career. He's been featured in everything from Infernal Affairs(from which The Departed was based) to historical epics like The Warlords, an wu-xia films like House of Flying Daggers. His presence all but ensures that Iron Man 3 will be huge in Hong Kong.
The site says that Lau's character represents China's technology sector, using their own armored heroes to aid Star in his fight against the terrorist threat to both countries. However, in their report they seem to think the enemy is The Mandarin, which is unlikely since China has a history of not supporting movies with Chinese villains. I think this is an error on NeonPunch's part, but we'll see for sure in the coming days. Maybe Kingsley's character will be named The Mandarin, but not be Chinese? That would be a way to appease those who have been waiting for the villain to emerge since 2008's film, while also keeping Chinese investors happy?
So you can add Lau to what is turning out to be the most impressive cast of a superhero movie this side of The Dark Knight Rises. Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, and the newly added Jessica Chastain will star on May 3rd 2013. Wow.
