'Iron Man 3' Leaked Photos and Info Reveal New Villains

Now that "The Avengers" is out (and doing tremendously well), Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. are busy getting to work on "Iron Man 3." It hasn't been long, but already there have been some leaked photos from the set thanks to curious onlookers, and said photos are pretty revealing of the movie's new characters.

SPOILER ALERT! Potentially, at least... I'm sure that the eventual trailer will reveal these characters, but just in case they don't, you might want to stop here if you want your next "Iron Man" experience pristine and unspoiled.

First up, some inside info from the shoot: according to IFC, a crew member from the movie has confirmed that Ben Kingsley, who was signed on to play a yet-to-be-named villain, will in fact be playing the Mandarin. The Mandarin was a long-time enemy of Iron Man in the comics, especially in the early days of the series in the 1960's. In the comics, he uses alien technology to create his own weapons and gadgets, allowing him to compete with Iron Man in terms of technological strength. If this rumor is true, we'll see if the movie takes the alien angle... now that Thor/Loki, the Chitauri and other alien races have been introduced into the Marvel movie universe, anything is possible.

However, IFC also notes that Mandarin will just be a secondary villain, while Aldrich Killian (played by Guy Pearce) will still act as the main bad guy.

The Superficial has some even more interesting news, in the form of leaked set photos. A series of photos snapped by an onlooker at an outdoor shoot for the movie reveals actor James Badge Dale in his own suit of star-spangled Iron Man armor. This suggests that "Iron Man 3" will also feature Iron Patriot, a suit of armor designed to emulate Iron Man and Captain America.

Interestingly, the Iron Patriot suit was designed in the comics by Norman Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin, originally of the Spider-Man comics. However, James Badge Dale is listed as playing Eric Savin in the movie, who is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army who later uses technology to become a superhero, so it looks like Osborn won't be the one donning the armor.

However, if Osborn does appear, that could mean that "The Amazing Spider-Man" will attempt to tie in with the rest of the Marvel universe. Considering that Columbia Pictures is distributing "Amazing Spider-Man," though, that might not be an option.

Check out the pictures of Iron Patriot below: