The portrayal of the Mandarin in "Iron Man 3" was innovative and risky, but it also left a bitter taste among many Iron Man purists. There is a new hope though, as Ben Kingsley was confirmed to shoot a Marvel One-shot. Is it an introduction to the real Mandarin?

Ben Kingsley himself has given clues on the project in The Belfast Telegraph:

"It's a secret Marvel project. I'm not allowed to say any more, you're going to have to wait and see," he said. I was with many members of the crew that were involved in Iron Man 3. It was lovely to see them again. It was great to be with this wonderful family," he continued. I think they have enormous taste as creative artists. There's nothing lazy or gratuitous about their work. They are at the top of their game, and they're great company to keep."

Thus, we can be certain that it involves Iron Man. The big question: Will he play Trevor Slattery or will he be re-introduced as the 'real' Mandarin?

"Iron Man 3" and its choice to deviate from the comics material was seen as 'sacrilege' by comic book film enthusiasts. They believe that the move is tantamount to ending the Iron Man series because Mandarin is Iron Man's iconic nemesis, similar to what the Joker is to Batman. From What Culture:  

"Even with the modern pre-occupation with "realism" in superhero movies, it would have been far more welcome for the Mandarin to have been the real deal - a superhuman martial artist with the skills to cause Iron Man more than a mild headache, and unfortunately the legacy of this iteration of the character will come at a cost to the next Iron Man film.

Because when you've diluted your most iconic villain - and it is seriously akin to making the Joker a figment of Batman's imagination - where next can you go?"

Director Shane Black was given a free rein to make some changes, and Black was a recommendation from Robert Downey Jr himself (they worked together in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"). Did he abuse this right?

Latino-Review has mentioned that Kingsley is shooting a Marvel One-shot to 'right what is wrong.' Their report: "The real Mandarin wants to set the record straight. Yes, the real Mandarin. How is he going to set the record straight? That I don't know. Who is going to play the real Mandarin? Don't know either. Wait and see."

Marvel has yet to reveal more clues. It is not even sure which DVD Blu-Ray (where the One-shots are shown) will contain short film. Following the previous trend, it has no relation to the movie that contains it. Thus, the most likely candidates would be "Thor: The Dark World" or "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."