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'Iron Man 3' villain: Is it the Mandarin?

'Iron Man 3' villain rumors swirl, with some saying actor Ben Kingsley is portraying the Mandarin.

惭补谤惫别濒鈥檚 聽is the first entry in phase 2 of , and after the success of , it鈥檚 safe to say that Marvel movie mania is at an all-time high. and have been circulating like wildfire on the Blackwater, but as production on the film kicks off in Wilmington, North Carolina, details from the set are being leaked to the Internet.

Read on for some unconfirmed rumors from various 鈥渟ources鈥� who claim to have knowledge of the Iron Man 3听蝉迟辞谤测濒颈苍别.

聽is dropping a big exclusive, in which they claim to have some better sources than the 鈥渃rew members on the set鈥� that other sites are sourcing. Here鈥檚 the deal with the Iron Man 3聽villain situation, according to LR:

• Ben Kingsley IS playing The Mandarin. However, is a background mastermind, while scientist character, Aldrich Killian, is the more direct threat.
• Pearce鈥檚 character will invent the Extremis nanotechnology, and use it to transform multiple people into (literal) killing machines.
• Minor villains聽 (played by Ashley Hamilton) and (played by James Badge Dale) will not be the same as their obscure comic book counterparts, but will rather be generic cyborg types created by Killian鈥檚 Extremis technology.
• Actor (Die Hard 2) is in the cast of Iron Man 3聽for some yet-to-be-revealed role.

Meanwhile, reports from the actual set conflict with some of LR鈥榮 assessments. As reported by and :

The film鈥檚 security had things pretty well barricaded up so it was impossible to get any photos of the filming inside. Those that did get a glimpse inside reported seeing extras dressed in military uniforms and suits. The extras in suits were described as looking like Secret Service men.

While talking to some Wilmington locals, we had one source involved with the production tell us that Mandarin was definitely the villain. He said Mandarin had a set of twins that did most of his dirty work for him. Another source who had visited EUE/Screen Gems Studios told us that the sets they were building included Chinese storefronts.

Probably, the biggest piece of information we learned, which we reported earlier is that part of the story for Iron Man 3 will be set in Miami, Florida. A source close to the production revealed that he had seen vehicles emblazoned with logos for the city of Miami and Miami Police Department being unloaded on one of the sets.

Specifically, it鈥檚 the part about the Mandarin鈥檚 鈥渆vil twin鈥� henchmen that Latino Review is refuting; they figure somebody unfamiliar with the production is confusing some of the details. We鈥檒l see how it shakes out, and who is correct, soon enough.

All in all, most of the information provided fits in accordance with our assessment that . For those unfamiliar: basically, rogue scientists (later backed by the Mandarin) create and unleash a nanotechnological virus that transforms people into organic cyborgs (or something like that). These opponents are faster and stronger than Tony Stark鈥檚 Iron Man tech, forcing Tony himself to become a cyborg-type person (even more so than he arguably is) in order to save the day.

In larger scope, the technological arms race kicked off by Extremis, and Tony鈥檚 life-altering decisions to use it, had far-reaching effects on the Marvel universe, both terrestrially and cosmically (see: ). It also transformed Iron Man into something more than a guy in a suit of armor (as Captain America famously stated in The Avengers). If Marvel is taking their movie universe down a similar path (as has been speculated), this would be a logical starting point.

We鈥檒l find out more, we鈥檙e sure, as Iron Man 3 continues production to make it鈥檚 May 3, 2013 release date.

Sandy Schaefer blogs at .