Despite production nearing an end on Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, we still have a bit of late casting news to share.
As a result of Andy Lau’s departure from the film, Screen Rant is reporting that actor Xueqi Wang has been cast to fill the void after discussing Lau’s open role with producer Dan Mintz over some tea. Sources expect the announcement to be released soon, with Wang to shoot this month.
As previously mentioned, Andy Lau had been cast as a scientist in Black’s upcoming film, playing a role that would appear numerous times in the ever-growing Marvel universe.
Details emerged back when Edgar Wright was rumored to be shooting the Iron Man 3 post-credit scene that the character in question would be Chen Lu (aka Radioactive Man), which would connect with the future story on Wright’s own Marvel film, Ant-Man.
To what extent we’ll see Radioactive Man though is still up in the air, as Chen Lu may only be seen helping Tony Stark develop technology for his fight against the Mandarin. My guess is Lu will start out as a friend to Tony, but a post credits scene would see the scientist transform into the radiation injected brute and set up a conflicting force for Ant-Man.
In the comics, Radioactive Man appears numerous times throughout Ant-Man’s adventures as both a companion and villain though, so his character arc will remain a question until unveiled.
One thing we can assume is that Xueqi Wang won’t have a large part in the upcoming Iron Man 3 based on his last-minute addition. In fact, don’t be surprised if we don’t even get a glimpse of Lu showing off Radioactive Man’s vibrant green glow, instead saving his transformation for a memorable sequence in the Ant-Man film.
What do you think? Does the addition of a lesser known superhero like Radioactive Man make the Marvel universe more exciting?
