“Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher,” he says in new trailer

Oct 23, 2012 10:44 GMT  ·  By

With the release of the first, full, official trailer for “Iron Man 3” also comes the revelation of the film’s big villain, a secret Marvel has been keeping for long. His name is The Mandarin and he’s played by Ben Kingsley.

In case you missed him in the trailer, above is the first official photo, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

“In the comic books, The Mandarin was a Chinese exile who ventures into a remote, forbidden valley and discovers a crashed alien spaceship. Inside the ship are ten rings, each with a different power, which allow him to seek revenge on a world he considers unjust,” EW writes.

“But this version of The Mandarin will not follow that same backstory, said Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios. Don’t expect aliens,” the publication writes.

Similarly, don’t expect Kingsley’s villain to be Chinese because, Feige explains, the intention was to make him more of a universal baddie than the original version.

Moreover, the story is careful to link him to Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the events in the previous two films as well.

If spoilers is what you’re looking for, follow the link in the second paragraph.

“Iron Man 3” will be out in theaters on May 3, 2013.