The cast and crew ofMarvel Studios’Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsgathered on the red carpet at Hollywood’s El Capitan for the film’s world premiere on Monday night. While the images of the stars are being shared on social media, the presence of Sir Ben Kingsley at the premiere has got fans quite excited about the possibility of hisIron Man 3character returning.
Kingsley, who made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut back in2013’sIron Man 3as the notorious Trevor Slattery, was among the stars who came out to celebrateShang-Chi’s premiere. Initially, it seemed like he was present at theShang-Chipremiere to show his support towards the project, but as studio executives introduced the actors, Kingsley was officially announced as part of the cast. It seems like Slattery has returned to the MCU.
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Kingsley’s character fromIron Man 3is one who has been talked about for years, mostly because fans were upset over the fact that he wasn’t the real villain.Slattery was initially positioned to be The Mandarin, who is one of Iron Man’s nemeses in the Marvel comics. Fans were excited to see the character brought to the MCU, only to be left feeling disappointed when it was revealed that the character was simply an actor who was being paid to act as The Mandarin.
It has been confirmed that The Mandarin will be appearing inShang-Chiand will be portrayed by Tony Leung. Introduced as Wenwu, the character happens to be the hero Shang-Chi’s father and is in possession of the powerful Ten Rings, as seen in the multiple trailers for the film. Marvel boss Kevin Feige has previously stated howShang-Chiwill do The Mandarin justice. The focus ofIron Man 3was always meant to be Tony Stark, and so the film wouldn’t have been able to do right by The Mandarin.
However, with Leung now confirmed to be playing the real The Mandarin, Kingsley’s presence in the roster of cast members could only mean one thing - Slattery is also being brought back. It remains unclear what his role will be in the film, and Feige is obviously keeping mum about it.
Despite receiving a lot of backlash at the time, fans seem ready to forgive and welcome Kingsley’s Slattery back into the fold. Fans are also excited about howShang-Chiwill tie in with the MCU’s origins. The Ten Rings organization was mentioned in the first MCU film,Iron Man, and over a decade later, it will be making a comeback inShang-Chi.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringspremieres in theaters on July 05, 2025.
