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June 16, 2008


Although he has not yet been signed to direct the sequel, Iron Man director Jon Favreau has been blogging who fans might expect to see menace Shellhead in Iron Man 2.

In a posting at his MySpace blog, Favreau revealed that "The Mandarin is Iron Man's nemesis and will be incorporated in the sequel. It's true that I am apprehensive about how he is to be presented. In the tech based modern world that we created for (Iron Man), a Fu Manchu style villain with magical/alien tech rings would seem out of place."

Favreau added, "There were early drafts of (Iron Man) where the Mandarin was the main villain, so we've already explored the character to some extent. I am curious to see how he has been treated in his latest books and how that might influence our direction."

He also said, "I've already mentioned War Machine and Mandarin. I have some ideas, but I really need to sit down with Downey and the Marvel guys before we say much more." And when asked about the chances of Obadiah Stane returning (SPOILER ALERT) despite his apparent death at the end of the first film, Favreau quipped, "Stane's death? Do characters ever really die in Marvel? Isn't it like a soap opera?"

When asked about the report that claimed the Hulk might pop up in Iron Man 2 (just as Tony Stark did in The Incredible Hulk), Favreau replied, "There are no plans to do so."