8 Moments We Need To See In MCU Phase 4

3. The Mandarin Acknowledges 'The Mandarin'

Iron man Doctor Strange
Marvel Studios

In Iron Man 3, audiences were treated to a take on the nefarious Mandarin that was absolutely pitch-perfect for the modern world. A vicious, unrelenting terrorist with a clinical edge, Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin felt like a huge deal and was positioned as somebody who Tony Stark had no way of stopping.

Well, until it was revealed that this was all a charade and that The Mandarin was really an actor called Trevor. And with that, this once-brilliant rogue was made into a ham-fisted joke that left sections of the Marvel fandom wincing in disbelief.

Fear not, though, for Marvel Studios is taking a second crack at The Mandarin. As in, the real Mandarin. We’ve seen in the All Hail the King short that there is indeed a very real Mandarin in the MCU, and now we’re going to be introduced to him in February 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Ten Rings mentioned there is actually a terrorist group headed up by The Mandarin, and already the film has cast Infernal Affairs’ Tony Leung as this all-powerful villain. What we need now, then, is for a scene where the real Mandarin makes at least a passing reference to his faux imposter from Iron Man 3.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.