Two stories doing the rounds today offer up the potential of a couple of new faces joining the Marvelverse for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3.

Twitch quote the wonderfully named NeonPunch as the source for the rumour that Andy Lau, known to many for his roles in Infernal Affairs and House of the Flying Daggers, will be taking on a role in the third film in the series though Twitch quite rightly are quick to stamp on the rumours that The Mandarin is the role he is up for. It was reported recently that the film will shoot partly in China and as Disney would be joining with China’s DMG Entertainment in funding the film it seems highly unlikely that a character such as The Mandarin would be front and centre for the eagerly awaited film.

In other casting news Deadline also have Jessica Chastain in the frame for a key role in the film following a reschedule of future filming projects. It would be very interesting to see Chastain enter the blockbuster arena, she’s always fascinating to see on screen although Deadline dubiously refer to her role as that of…

a sexy scientist every bit as smart as Tony Stark.

Yeah! Go girl etc… Sigh.

To get an idea of the company Chastain might be joining I googled ‘sexy scientist’ and it, rather predictably, came up with this…

but then it also came up with this, which I would love to see in Iron Man 3,