The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given birth to a number of fan theories through decades, from which only a few were later confirmed. Since MCU began connecting universes in the superhero genre, with Robert Downey Jr.’s 2008 Iron Man, the franchise simply continued expanding and creating new stories and theories.
MCU’s connected universes simply offered viewers the opportunity to come up with theories on how some movies, characters, and events are connected. One of the most controversial twists that ended up being a theory of its own was spotted in Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3. Surrounding the story of The Mandarin, the movie created a major mistake that gave birth to a fan theory, which had to be later corrected by another hit film.
The Controversial Twist in Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3
As MCU began connecting universes starting with Jon Favreau’s 2008 Iron Man movie, the franchise gave birth to several fan theories. Leaving open ends and creating new events, Marvel offered fans the opportunity to come up with their own theories. A few of those bizarre fan theories were later included in MCU and given a closure.
One such major fan theory originated after RDJ’s Iron Man 3. According to reports from ScreenRant, Marvel Studios made a bold choice when they offered one of the most controversial twists in Downey Jr.’s third installment. Apparently, Iron Man 3 was supposed to feature the main villain as Mandarin, alongside Guy Pearce‘s Aldrich Killian.
Unfortunately, what MCU did was introduce Ben Kingsley as an actor named Trevor Slattery, who impersonated as Mandarin. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3 created a storyline where Aldrich Killian had hired Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery to pose as the Mandarin and take responsibility for all the accidents caused by Killian’s experiments.
Although Marvel planned to create suspicion around the existence of Mandarin, Iron Man 3’s plot twist eventually ended up disappointing fans, which led people to wonder about Mandarin’s looming presence in the MCU.
The Theory of Mandarin was Corrected by MCU’s Shang-Chi
While Mandarin was actually the leader of the Ten Rings and a crucial villain pitted against Iron Man, the MCU tried adding their own twist in the movie. In an attempt to create an aura of suspicion around the villainous character, Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, who posed as Mandarin.
Following this plot twist, MCU certainly succeeded in creating suspicion around the existence of Mandarin, so much so that the disappointing and controversial twist made way for theories claiming the real Mandarin exists in the MCU. Thankfully, unlike most fan theories that get lost in oblivion, this particular theory was taken into account.
Eventually, the controversial twist in Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man 3 gave birth to fan theories about The Mandarin looming in the background, was corroborated by Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King. The 2014 documentary featured interviews with Mandarin impersonator Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) to unlock the secrets of his past and find out if the Ten Rings really exist.
Further, even the 2021 hit MCU movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had to get in line to correct the twist created by Iron Man 3. As RDJ’s movie gave birth to the theories suggesting Mandarin’s presence in MCU, and the 2014 documentary corroborated that very fact, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had to feature Shang-Chi’s father, Xu Wenwu, as the real Mandarin.
