The bulk of filming may have already taken place on Marvel Studios' upcoming sequel Iron Man 3, but that hasn't stopped director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) from throwing another bad guy into the mix for Robert Downey Jr.'s latest outing as the Armored Avenger as the production heads to Mainland China for a week-long shoot.
It was way back in September when reports first emerged in the Chinese media that actor Wang Xueqi had secured the role of Chen Lu - better known to comic book fans as Radioactive Man (the Marvel one, not the guy from The Simpsons) - and now it's official, with Deadline revealing that "The Sean Connery of China" has signed on to the role originally earmarked for Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs).
Xueqi, whose credits include the likes of Yellow Earth, The Founding of a Republic and Bodyguards and Assassins, has signed on to portray 'Dr. Wu', a reworked version of the Chen Lu character, which is described as "not a huge part." Earlier rumours had suggested that he could feature in a post-credits sequence to set Radioactive Man up as the villain in director Edgar Wright's Ant-Man feature, which is due for release in 2015. Couple this with the speculation that Stephanie Szostak (R.I.P.D.) is set to cameo as Janet van Dyne / Wasp, and there may just be some truth in it...
Update - DMG Entertainment (via CBM) have just released two images with Xueqi looking decidedly non-villainous in his role as Dr. Wu...
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Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark looks to have his hands full in Iron Man 3, with Dr. Wu joining an ever-increasing roster of villains that includes Ben Kingsley (Hugo) as The Mandarin, Guy Pearce (Prometheus) as Aldrich Killian, James Badge Dale (The Grey) as Eric Savin / Coldblood and Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) as Jack Taggert / Firepower. Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (War Machine) and Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) all return alongside RDJ, while other additions to the cast include Rebecca Hall (The Town) as Maya Hansen and William Sadler (Machete Kills) as Sal Kennedy.
Iron Man 3 is set for release in the UK on April 26th, 2013 and will open in North America on May 3rd, 2013.
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It was way back in September when reports first emerged in the Chinese media that actor Wang Xueqi had secured the role of Chen Lu - better known to comic book fans as Radioactive Man (the Marvel one, not the guy from The Simpsons) - and now it's official, with Deadline revealing that "The Sean Connery of China" has signed on to the role originally earmarked for Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs).
Xueqi, whose credits include the likes of Yellow Earth, The Founding of a Republic and Bodyguards and Assassins, has signed on to portray 'Dr. Wu', a reworked version of the Chen Lu character, which is described as "not a huge part." Earlier rumours had suggested that he could feature in a post-credits sequence to set Radioactive Man up as the villain in director Edgar Wright's Ant-Man feature, which is due for release in 2015. Couple this with the speculation that Stephanie Szostak (R.I.P.D.) is set to cameo as Janet van Dyne / Wasp, and there may just be some truth in it...
Update - DMG Entertainment (via CBM) have just released two images with Xueqi looking decidedly non-villainous in his role as Dr. Wu...
Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark looks to have his hands full in Iron Man 3, with Dr. Wu joining an ever-increasing roster of villains that includes Ben Kingsley (Hugo) as The Mandarin, Guy Pearce (Prometheus) as Aldrich Killian, James Badge Dale (The Grey) as Eric Savin / Coldblood and Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) as Jack Taggert / Firepower. Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (War Machine) and Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) all return alongside RDJ, while other additions to the cast include Rebecca Hall (The Town) as Maya Hansen and William Sadler (Machete Kills) as Sal Kennedy.
Iron Man 3 is set for release in the UK on April 26th, 2013 and will open in North America on May 3rd, 2013.
