A lot of comic book fans were far from pleased by Marvel Studios’ decision to turn The Mandarin into a dim-witted impersonator being used by A.I.M. as the face of terrorist organisation, The Ten Rings, in Iron Man 3. However, few had many issues with Sir Ben Kingsley’s hilarious performance, and he will be returning to the role of Trevor Slattery in a 14-minute Marvel One-Shot which will be included on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray later this year.
According to EW, “All Hail The King” serves as an epilogue to Iron Man 3 and perhaps even a prelude to a fourth instalment of the franchise. The short picks up with Trevor in a maximum security prison (Seagate prison; the same location in which Luke Cage gained his powers in the comics) where he is enjoying his newfound infamy. As it turns out, The Ten Rings terrorist organisation – who were responsible for Tony Stark’s kidnap in the first Iron Man movie – are far from happy about the actor posing as their leader.
“Imagine a real terrorist organization whose beliefs were long held and religious for thousands of years, and imagine a drunk, British actor coming along and essentially telling the world that he’s the face of your organization,” says Iron Man 3 co-writer and “All Hail The King” scribe Drew Pearce. “I think they would be right to be quite angry.” He adds, “By the end of the short, there are definitely a lot of exciting other places that are brought up in it that could then go in the Marvel universe. You know, whether that’s an Iron Man movie or another one going into Phase Two or Three.”
That obviously leaves the door open for The Ten Rings to make their presence felt in a future Iron Man movie, although with Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian having declared himself The Mandarin, fans will just have to live with this interpretation of the classic villain once described as a “racist caricature” by Iron Man 3 director Shane Black. Other characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe will also appear (although their identity has not been revealed as of yet), while Argo’s Scoot McNairy stars as a documentary filmmaker interviewing Slattery. Thor: The Dark World will be released in the US on February 25th.
