Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings producer Jonathan Schwartz teased how the movie will handle Iron Man 3's Mandarin twist.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings producer Jonathan Schwartz revealed how the upcoming film will handle Iron Man 3's infamous Mandarin twist in the form of a new character named Wenwu.
Wenwu, who has ties to the Ten Rings terrorist organization from the Iron Man films, has had many names throughout the years, including The Mandarin. While speaking to EW, Schwartz hinted at how Wenwu will be used to deal with the Mandarin's identity in the film. "I think people hear 'the Mandarin' and expect a very specific kind of thing, and that may not be the thing they're getting," Schwartz said. "They're hopefully getting a more complex and layered take on the character than that name would lead you to."
Wenwu, played by legendary Honk Kong actor Tony Leung, is Shang-Chi's father. While the Mandarin has existed as one of Marvel comics' most infamous villains since 1964 -- and his true name has never been revealed -- the character of Wenwu has no comic book counterpart and was created entirely for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When Iron Man 3 was first released in 2013, it was revealed that the supposed Mandarin who appeared in the film's marketing was actually an actor named Trevor Slattery (portrayed by Ben Kingsley). Slattery was working for Aldrich Killian, who proclaimed himself to be The Mandarin. This would later be retconned in the Marvel short film All Hail the King, which revealed that there is a real Mandarin, though he did not physically appear in the short.
"A character like Wenwu could have easily been a one-dimensional villain with no heart," said Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton. "Tony opened this character up [so] this is an antagonist who has a deep ability to love." A first look at Leung as Wenwu/The Mandarin can be seen in the recently released teaser trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Daniel Callaham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Jiang Nan, Meng'er Zhang, Ronny Cheng, Fala Chen and Jiang Len. The film arrives in theaters Sept. 3.