Apr 10, 2012 04:53 PM EST

Ben Kingsley Set For Iron Man 3

Fans of the Marvel universe are already counting down the days until the Avengers finally arrive in cinemas, but they should not forget that next May sees the third instalment of the Iron Man franchise to hit the big screen.

We already know that Shane Black will be directing Robert Downey Jr who returns as the charismatic Tony Stark but little has been said about who may be playing the role of any villain opposite him. Wait no longer as it is reported that Ben Kingsley will indeed be that man.

One cannot help but see a possible resemblance between Kingsley and Iron Mans archenemy Mandarin and any fanboy who knows his Iron Man lore must realize it cannot be that long before he makes his debut in the feature films. Although early reports report that this will not be the case as the third film is meant to loosely follow the Extremis series. Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Gwyneth Paltrow are also expected to reprise their roles for Iron Man 3 which starts production this May.