Oh, so we can't even have Iron Man to ourselves? As if China doesn't own this country lock stock 'n barrel already now they want to take our most brilliant mind away in Tony Stark? Huh? Marvel and Disney announced that DMG Entertainment would be investing in, co-producing, and handling the distribution of Iron Man 3 in China, with some filming to take place there over the summer.
The press release announcing the deal is pretty dull, but it raises some interesting questions. The most important of which is whether or not this means we may finally see the arrival of Iron Man's arch-nemesis, he Mandarin, who has been hinted at forever but was written off by director Shane Black as a racist caricature. It stands to reason that if they are so clearly appealing to the China market, that The Mandarin would make for a welcome addition to the storyline, even if just in a small role. And it would also provide obvious incentive to make sure their version of the Mandarin isn't as offensive as Black thinks he is. I don't really agree with his assessment of the character, as he's changed quite a bit over the years.
What we know so far is that the storyline will be based on Warren Ellis's Extremis storyline, which has Tony Stark battling a nanobot powered foe, ultimately injecting himself with the same technology and changing his entire physiology. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Scarlett Johansson are confirmed to return, with Ben Kingsley circling the villain role. Filming on the United States portion should begin next month, for a planned release on May 3rd 2013.
