The portrayal of the Mandarin has been controversial enough by changing the character's history from Chinese to actor Ben Kingsley.
Director Shane Black explained, "One of the joys for me has always been seeing how you take a villain from the comic book and realize him in a slightly more realistic way for the movie—render him for movies in a way that’s recognizable, but different. That’s fun. Like the Joker in The Dark Knight is not the Joker from the comic book, but there’s just enough of him that you recognize him and go, 'Wow, what a creative way of interpreting the Joker for motion pictures.' So that was our task here, too. The fans love this character of the Mandarin and we just said, 'Well, what we don’t want is this potentially racist, stereotype of a Fu Manchu villain just waving his fist.'"
The Mandarin was created by Stan Lee and designed by Don Heck, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #50 back in 1964. In the comics he is a scientific genius and a brilliant martial arts fighter. The movie version had none of these traits, but did have his trademark rings.
Unfortunately the rings didn't do anything. In the comics, the Mandarin fashions ten ring from alien spaceship metal and it allows him to do everything from make fire to freeze people. Shane said that "... he’s not from space in this. The rings are rings. They’re showmanship, they’re accoutrements. They’re paraphernalia of warfare that he sort of drapes himself with"
Still, artist Andrea Dopaso put a lot of work into designing them.
Argentinan artist Andrea Dopaso is a professional Hollywood set designer and concept illustrator for films such as Spider-Man (2002), Star Trek into Darkness (2013) and Solaris (2002).
Comic Book Movie's Jay Johnson (Nailbiter111) shared some gorgeous concept art of the Mandarin's rings and Pepper Pott's necklace.
Check out the rest of the images after the jump and click to enlarge.
Here's what she had to say about the art on her site goodart-badart.com:
Mandarin's Ten Rings
"[Director] Shane Black, was a breeze. [Iron Man 3 Prop Master Russell Bobbitt] is the kind of person that makes you forget that you are actually ['working']. His passion for what he does melts away any difficulty, and he knows how to get things done, literally.
"This time I got the coolest assignment : 'The [Mandarin] Rings', and I got the chance to design them in Zbrush.
"I was [hoping] to send them to grow, but because of the many considerations of proper fitting and weight of the rings, Russell made the wise decision to trust them to a professional jewelry maker."
Pepper's Shrapnel Necklace
"I also got the chance to work in the Necklace that Tony gives as a present to Pepper Potts. The necklace is special because it had been made with the shrapnel that was removed from Tony’s body.
In this case my version of this piece was not the final used in the film."
See more of Andrea Dopaso's fine art portfolio at
http://andreadopaso.com and her designs at http://goodart-badart.com
Click on the links if you want to see more of Andrea Dopaso's work and Iron Man 3.
Official Synopsis
Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968.
“Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley
Official website: http://marvel.com/ironman3
Like IRON MAN 3 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironman
Tweet the Official Hashtag: #IronMan3
Follow IRON MAN 3 on Twitter:@Iron_Man
What do you think of the jewelry concept art? Would you have preferred the designs from the illustrations? Are you sorry the Mandarin didn't have special rings? Are you planning to watch Iron Man 3?
@ Copyright 2013 Marvel Studios, DMG Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved
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