We all remember the Aldrich Killian/Trevor Slattery incident from Iron Man 3, and while it was an unexpected and unusual move by Marvel, it definitely made for one of the most incredulous turns in the history of the MCU.
Of course, in the wake of Iron Man 3, Marvel released the one-shot “All Hail the King” in which we discovered that Aldrich Killian wasn’t the real Mandarin as he had claimed, the real terror leader was still out there somewhere. Kevin Feige recently did an AMA on Reddit where he was asked if the real Mandarin still had a role to play in the MCU.
Though Feige is a question-dodging veteran, he simply replied “yes” and this has sparked a huge online debate that he could, in fact, appear in the upcoming “Shang-Chi” film Marvel is planning. If so, we could be hearing casting news for the role within the next year, as Shang-Chi is currently expected to occupy one of the open slots Disney has for Marvel in 2021/2022. You can see some thoughts on who might play Shang-Chi by clicking here but for now, let’s focus on the Mandarin himself and who could take on what could be a hugely challenging role!
B.D Wong
Though he is well-known for his recurring role in the Jurassic Park franchise, B.D Wong has been a menace as Dr. Hugo Strange on Gotham for several years now. Strange is, admittedly, a very different type of villain to the Mandarin, but one that he could equally pull off with his cold, scientific manner that screams villainous mastermind in a terrifying and dangerous fashion.
Ken Watanabe
This is perhaps one of the most obvious choices for the role of the Mandarin. When first appearing in Marvel comics, Mandarin was essentially the “Fu Manchu” stereotype and very much laid into Western racism about Chinese culture, playing on the communism fear held in America at the time. In now trying to avoid any stereotypes, you may too quickly dismiss somebody potentially perfect for this role like Watanabe. He appeared terrifying in Batman Begins as the supposed Ra’s Al Ghul before Liam Neeson was revealed to be the real threat, and in a similar fashion, Watanabe could be revealed as the terrifying true Mandarin, since he is still young enough to get up to a little action if necessary.
Chow-Yun Fat
I was surprised to discover how much older Chow Yun-Fat is than I expected, considering how he still appears to be as spry as ever. This capability with all of the wisdom in his performances is exactly why he would be perfect for the Mandarin, a role meant for somebody with experience and ability still on his side. It’s another fairly obvious casting, but as stated above that isn’t in any way a bad thing with this role, playing into what you would expect from this character only to once again be able to subvert expectations down the road is a great strategy for Marvel.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Anybody whose first IMDB credit is an uncredited role in Big Trouble in Little China is clearly a legend. Tagawa has been a huge TV star recently between roles in The Man in High Castle and Lost in Space but a huge film role like this is well within his reach. Earlier roles in 47 Ronin, Pearl Harbour and of course Kickboxer 2: The Road Back has him ready for something this big, and he would be an excellent and devious terror leader.
Donnie Yen
After seeing Ip Man how can you refuse Donnie Yen any role he wants in the world? After witnessing the stellar Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One, we know that Donnie Yen is still young enough to take on a spiritual and yet ass-kicking role in a blockbuster, this is exactly what he needs to do as the Mandarin. He is definitely one of the most currently hot stars on this whole list and could be a valuable commodity for Marvel to snatch up.
Hiroyuki Sanada
I was in love with the idea of Hiroyuki Sanada as the Mandarin a few years back after seeing him tangle with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in The Wolverine, thus he had to be included on this list. His other credentials include 47 Ronin, Rush Hour 3 and The Last Samurai, which all sounds great. One slight flaw, he was just introduced and almost simultaneously killed in the MCU in Avengers: Endgame when he tried getting a little too close to Clint Barton in a bad mood. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Marvel can’t cast him as Mandarin, there is a whole multiverse out there after all, and who knows what changes Hulk made with his snap, perhaps undoing some of his teammates’ regrettable actions, but I’ll concede that it is unlikely Marvel would double up with Sanada.
Byung-Hun Lee
If you’re telling me that you don’t want to see Storm Shadow from the GI Joe films taking on a kick-ass Marvel role, you’re insane. We have to remember that Mandarin needs to be able to kick some serious ass, and while Byung-Hun Lee is fast approaching fifty, he can definitely still go, and he has continued to strike hits in recent years with RED 2, The Magnificent Seven reboot and Terminator: Ge… never mind that last one actually.
Michelle Yeoh
Hell yeah! Marvel definitely aren’t above pulling a little gender swap, they’ve recently nailed their first female villain with Cate Blanchett as Hela and their first female superhero film with Captain Marvel. The A-force moment in the Endgame battle was epic and of course, that film reminded us of how excellent Tilda Swinton was as the Ancient One, a role filled in the comics by an elderly Asian man. So who is to say a woman couldn’t be the leader of the ten rings? If it is, I personally want Michelle Yeoh, who has been a western name ever since Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She’s retained that status through the years and can probably still get into the martial arts mix, we’ve seen her do some pretty impressive work just recently as Captain Philippa Georgiou on Star Trek: Discovery, and we are, once again, going to sneakily forget all about her little role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as Aleta Ogord so she can take on a new MCU role.
Lewis Tan
I keep thinking of great ideas that have already appeared somewhere in the MCU, because dammit who hasn’t crept in there at some point? I’m not even convinced that I’m not in it anymore. Lewis Tan is an expert martial artist and was actually born in England, which is interesting because a little known fact is that the comic book Mandarin was originally given the backstory of being born to a Chinese father and English mother. Lewis Tan has already appeared in Iron Fist as a one-off on Netflix, but we aren’t even sure if the Marvel Netflix shows are in the same universe anymore as the films due to Agents of SHIELD going off the deep end recently. What I love about Tan as Mandarin is that he’s much younger than you’d expect for the role, but much like Michael B Jordan as Killmonger in Black Panther, I think Shang-Chi could become the hero he is meant to be by facing someone who is his equal in many respects, and that is what a Lewis Tan Mandarin could be. Of course, Tan could also play Shang-Chi, but the argument can be made that Michael B Jordan could easily be the Black Panther as well, so judge for yourself whether this could work.
Jackie Chan
Yes, I know. Believe me, I know. I struggled with putting Jackie Chan on this list for a number of reasons, for example, he’s the most obvious “go-to” Asian actor for any role, particularly nowadays the older and wiser figure. Also, he is much more known in the west for his comedic chops, and the Mandarin is definitely a villain that fans want to see portrayed as a serious and deadly terrorist, after already seeing the comedic version presented by Kingsley in Iron Man 3. It made me realize though, that Chris Pratt, now seen as one of the biggest leading men in Hollywood, leading multiple franchises currently, was nothing more than a comedic actor when he was cast as Star-Lord. Jackie Chan is much later in his career and that image people have of him is far deeper ingrained in people’s minds, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t put together a terrifying monster with his legendary abilities and chops.
That is all we’ve got time for folks, but be sure to check out more articles all around the site and leave a comment if you have another idea for who could be a magnificent Mandarin, or tell us what other villains you would like to see utilized in Shang-Chi if you don’t believe the Mandarin is the right man for the job!