Lau

Iron Man 3 news has run rampant this past week as the filming start begins to get closer and closer. With new cast members joining left and right, it seems plenty of new faces are set to appear in the upcoming sequel. Now, one more cast member is rumored to be joining the film, and the details surrounding his character seemingly point to a variation on Tony Stark’s most noteworthy villain from the comics.

NeonPunch reports that Marvel is casting Andy Lau who “will be an OLD FRIEND OF TONY STARK’S that represents China’s technology sector – and will use China’s armored heroes to HELP Iron Man defeat ‘The Mandarin’ who is seen as a terrorist against both the US and China.” He was originally reported as playing The Mandarin himself, until it was eventually changed into the information above. What’s interesting to note is that while The Mandarin is a single supervillain in the comics, it’s said in the report that it could in fact be the terrorist group that Ben Kingsley leads that is named after the menacing antagonist.

Of course, nothing is yet confirmed. It was said that Kingsley would play a villain that uncleashes a nanotech virus, and so far that is completely true. The exact name of Kingsley’s character is very much undeterimined, while the previous two films have very much hinted at The Mandarin possibly appearing in the third installment. However, that was under jon Favreau’s rule, and with Shane Black now at the helm, things have considerably changed.

If true, Lau will join a slew of newcomers who have boarded the project this week, Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce have both gained important roles rumored to be pivotal to the sequel’s story, if the comics that the third film is based off of are any indication. Furthermore, they join returning members Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle, who will all be reprising their Iron Man 2 roles.

Iron Man 3 begins production next week in North Carolina, with a release set for May 3rd, 2013.