Ben Kingsley in talks for 'Iron Man 3' Villain

Ben is on the table to serve Iron Man villain realness. Variety reports that Ben is in talks to star in the sequel.

But the real question is what role will he play? Variety has the scoop:

Though insiders acknowledged Kingsley's involvement to Variety, Marvel declined to comment on the deal, and insiders denied that the character would be the Mandarin, a wealthy Chinese scientist and martial arts expert who, by backing the warlord who imprisoned Stark, was indirectly responsible for his creating Iron Man. 

Instead, Kingsley's character is involved in the spread of a virus through nanobots, given that "Iron Man 3" is loosely based on Warren Ellis' six-issue "Extremis" comicbook series first published in 2005. That arc -- which also heavily influenced the first "Iron Man" pic -- introduced a new origin story and focused heavily on nanotechnology.

Mandarin? Maybe... We shall see.