Shane Black Says "We Did Our Job Too Well" With Mandarin In 'Iron Man 3'

It’s becoming increasingly clear that “Iron Man 3” had a villain problem that went beyond merely hoodwinking the audience. Last month, director Shane Black revealed that early on, the baddie was actually a female character, but at the insistence of higher-ups, it was changed to a dude for the sake of toy sales. So then Black rolled with Mandarin, with Ben Kingsley‘s character presented as the force Tony Stark would have to reckon with….only for the rug to be pulled out, and have it revealed he was pretty much just a patsy, and that Guy Pearce‘s Killian was the real bad guy. I thought it was a pretty fun twist, particularly in a franchise that doesn’t often stray from formula, but many fans felt cheated. But would Black have done it any other way? Nope.

“We may have done our job a bit too well in a way because we succeeded in actually having a surprise in the middle of a big summer movie where you normally know virtually everything about it before you go in” Black told IGN. “And when I say we did our job too well it meant some of the fans felt fooled. They felt I think that they’d been led down one path and then sold a bill of goods. It’s hard. Because I want to please the fans… but in this case I thought and we all thought that it was just a very interesting and very layered decision to take the Mandarin [in].”

Essentially, Black has no regrets about what he chose to do with the villain, though he does understand why feelings might have been hurt at the bait and switch approach. However, the writer/director says sticking closer to the comics is not an approach he would’ve been comfortable with.

“The minute you start to govern your creative impulses based on anticipation of someone else’s response or their expectations then you’re going to fail. You’re going to fail them too. Because you’re not going to surprise anybody – you’re going to be busy second-guessing what other people want and indulging that people-pleasing side of yourself,” he said.

Hmm….sounds like the kind of reasoning Disney might do well to hear regarding a certain “Star Wars” movie at the moment….

So, job well done or misguided move by Black? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.