Kevin Feige on The Mandarin, The Hulk, and Netflix Characters Joining the MCU
With Ant-Man marking the end of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we all have a lot of questions about Phase 3. Well, io9 was able to sit down with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and ask him all the questions that we want answered.
Before we go any further, some of you may consider this spoilerish material. If you are super uptight about that kind of stuff, stop reading. You have been warned! Here are some of the best pieces from the interview:
As we all know, Ben Kingsley was not really the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. However, there have been rumors of a group of guys with the ten rings tattoos seen on the set of Ant-Man. These individuals were seen congregated around actor Martin Donovan. Is Donovan the real Mandarin and will we see him in Ant-Man? Feige told i09:
"I guess anything is possible but that’s not necessarily what we were currently thinking,
"But now that you said it…"
I can see Donovan as Mandarin’s right hand man, but the character of Mandarin has been so shrouded in mystery, I don’t think they would just let cat out of the bag like that. Continuing on.
He also went on to talk about the appearance of The Hulk in Civil War and how they are going to handle having that many characters in one movie and still have the story make sense.
"[Hulk] is not a primary part of Civil War. He may not be a part at all.
"Certainly at the end of Civil War it’s a whole new ball game....What’s fun about Civil War though is, as you know from the comics, it’s a very simple story. And it really has to be, to accommodate that many players. It’s very much a Captain America movie and it’s very much a sequel to the Winter Soldier in ways I don’t think people [will expect].... It’s a very simple structure that allows you to have these amazing character interactions in a way that I don’t think becomes overwhelming. And it’s very much is a kick off to Phase 3 because it sets the dynamic for everything that follows."
They are really trying to keep the Hulk’s next on screen appearance a secret. That makes it more fun when there is mystery to it.
Did you like Daredevil? Are you stoked that Jon Bernthal is going to be The Punisher? I can answer yes to both of those questions. Would you like to see them join the MCU? I answer with an emphatic HELL YES! What is the likelihood that this will happen?
"As those [shows] come out, as those get into the culture I think they’re, just like what happens in the movies, tools in the toolbox for some of those shows. And what happens on those shows could be tools in the tool box of the movies. I think that’ll happen at some point."
I take that as a "yes" with no timeline. Oh well, I accept.
There are some other cool little tidbits if you want to check out the full interview. I am just glad with how open Feige is with all of this. With Marvel not showing up at Comic Con this year, we have to take any info when we can get it.