John Cho, Tommy Chong Rumored as Iron Man 2 Villains?!

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 22, 2008

There was a moment in this past summer’s awesome action extravaganza known as Iron Man, that now brings about the kiss of irony. It was an early scene in the caves of Afghanistan in which the film’s second-level bad guy, a member of the “10 Rings” known as Raza (played by Faran Tahir), is delivering his monologue about Genghis Khan and the power of weapons. And after delivering his monologue, he turns toward the camera and says “and soon it will be my turn.” In that moment he looks just like Harold and Kumar’s Kal Penn. No joke. Every time I watch the movie and see that particular scene, all I can think about is Kal Penn.

So it makes sense that in the process of replacing ridiculous Batman 3 rumors with even more ridiculous Iron Man 2 rumors, that we’re now talking about John Cho, Penn’s Harold and Kumar co-star, as one of Iron Man’s upcoming foes. Marc Bernardin over at Entertainment Weekly is claiming today that his not-so-reliable sources tell him that Cho is being considered for the role of Mandarin, Iron Man’s most prominent (and fancily dressed) arch nemesis. As Bernardin calls it, this would make for the “Asian Geek Trifecta,” as Cho has now played Harold the lovable stoner and Sulu in the upcoming Star Trek reboot. And while I can think of better “Asian geek” characters (most of whom will undoubtedly be played by Shia LaBeouf in upcoming adaptations), I’m willing to go along with Bernardin’s hyperbole, assuming his story turns out to be true — which it won’t.

I know that these rumors are ass because they don’t stop with Cho, the continue right on to comedic legend and all-star stoner Tommy Chong, said to be in the running to play the Mandarin’s father. Lets face the cold, hard reality of the situation here, people — these rumors are just plain stupid. Equally as stupid is Mr. Bernardin’s commentary on said rumors, found below:

Does that sound real enough to start a casting rumor? Feels like it to me. After all, was there any more than that to go on when people started talking about Tim Robbins in Iron Man 2, Eddie Murphy as the Riddler in Batman 3, or Rachel Weisz as Catwoman in the same? (Let the record show that I am 100 percent in favor of a Rachel Weisz Catwoman.)

Is it a popularity thing, is that why people feel the need to start these rumors? What purpose do they serve, other to make people think you know more than anyone else? Why do these baseless rumors get any traction at all? Surely, we’ve got more important things to do with our time.

That said, I really would like to see Rachel Weisz as Catwoman. Which of these rumors do you wish were true? And, hey, wanna start one while you’re at it?

Really? This guy actually gets paid to write this drivel? Of course he’s just poking fun at us, the rest of us in the online world that is. These rumors are fabricated to prove a point, that we the fanboys of the internet will believe just about anything. Well we’re not laughing Mr. Bernardin… You sir, are a douche bag. My hope is that Jon Favreau does cast John Cho as The Mandarin, and like Heath Ledger as The Joker, it turns out to be a brilliant move. Then maybe Entertainment Weekly will get their heads out of their asses and get rid of idiots such as those who would simply poke fun at the rest of us. Who knows, maybe they’ll hire some of these internet writers who keep out scooping them.

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