Faran Tahir, who played Raza, leader of the terrorist group the Ten Rings in 2008’s “Iron Man” movie, recently talked to Sci Fi Wire about his role in the film, the future of the Iron Man franchise, and possibly dropped clues about the infamous Iron Man villain, the Mandarin.

“Iron Man 2” is in theaters May 7th, 2010 and stars Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Roimanova/The Black Widow, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury of SHIELD, and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.

“The character didn’t die in the first one, and it is part of a larger story. Iron Man’s biggest nemesis is Mandarin, and my character is the only reference to Mandarin. So we’re still trying to figure out how it’s going to fit. The things to consider, I think, are that if it is a bigger story, how much of it is exposed […] Is he the conduit to Mandarin? Does he become Mandarin? Is it just another leader of the Ten Rings, you know, thing? All the allusions [in] my first speech was all about Genghis Khan and all that, which is Mandarin’s thing, you know?”

Iron Man is a Marvel Comics character who premiered in 1963 and has since become an iconic character of the company and a founding member of their flagship superhero team, the Avengers. Also known as Tony Stark, he is a playboy inventor and industrialist who is injured overseas by a weapon of his own creation and captured by terrorists. Creating a suit of armor to save his damaged heart and escape, he eventually becomes the red and gold-armored hero known as Iron Man.

Keep checking back with Shockya.com for more Iron Man news.

By Costa Koutsoutis (Source: SCI FI WIRE)