Iron Man 3 Writer Worried The Twist Would Lead To Lynching

If you haven’t yet seen Iron Man 3, then be warned that this article discusses a big and [...]

By Scott Johnson

Iron Man 3 Twist

If you haven't yet seen Iron Man 3, then be warned that this article discusses a big and controversial twist in the movie. The twist is generating quite some heated debate on message boards and social media, so it's going to be pretty much impossible to avoid the spoilers if you go online at all this weekend. Our advice is go see Iron Man 3 right away if you don't want to be spoiled, because spoilers are everywhere with this particular film. In Iron Man 3, the big twist is that Ben Kingsley really isn't The Mandarin, but he is actually just a British actor named Trevor Slattery. In a podcast interview with Empire Online, director Shane Black and writer Drew Pearce talked about the big twist. In regards to how Marvel Studios felt about The Mandarin twist, Shane Black said, "They were very open to it." Drew Pearce added, "And that surprised us. I remember the meeting where we pitched it to them as well, and I think you [Shane Black] and I almost had like backup plans I think, because we didn't know if they would go for it. And Kevin [Feige] did what Kevin's best at, where he took a beat and he thought about it, and in classic Kevin style went 'that'd be cool.' And then it was like full steam ahead. I think there was a part of him that liked that challenge of, for want of a better word, having a twist in one of their movies, like just because he hadn't done it before." Drew Pearce continued, "So, you know, the whole movies been marketed in support of a twist. And a twist that is in the most generous version 'a brave reinterpretation of a canonical character.'" Shane Black added, "It's already a brave reinterpretation of a canonical character, and then turn it into something else that people go ' you have raped this..." Drew Pearce interrupted, "Man, here's the thing, as we do this podcast before the premieres, before the movie is released, I am still absolutely on tender hooks about whether Trevor Slattery is embraced or I'm lynched and you point at me and go 'lynch him.'" Shane Black said, "We won't be lynched, because here's the thing. I'm more interested in a way, I don't usually care about critics, but I'm interested in the idea of some critic somewhere saying, 'well, they've chosen to do something rather interesting in a comic book movie' more than a couple fanboys going 'I wanted space rings.'"

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