While Marvel releases The Avengers in less than one month away, Sir Ben Kinglsey was recently announced as a possible villain in Iron Man 3 which Marvel will release May3, 2013. Kingsley, who plays in next month's The Dictator, follows Jeff Bridges and Mickey Rourke as Iron Man franchise villains. He would reportedly play an evildoer hellbent on spreading a virus around the globe, via nanobots. If your eyes just crossed at that term, note that nanobots are minuscule robots that clock in around one nanometer in size. And reports says he is in final negotiations to take on the antagonist role.

Marvel fans might be disappointed at this bit of casting news, not because of Kingsley's talents, but because of who he isn't playing. According to Variety, the Iron Man 3 villain isn't Mandarin, one of Iron Man's longest running adversaries. Iron Man director Jon Favreau had previously wanted to include Mandarin in both the first film and Iron Man 2.

"Mandarin was in drafts right up until the [first] movie got green lit," Favreau told MTV last summer. "It was in the first film and then Mandarin, who's a famous villain, we had references to in the second film." Mandarin, as an Asian warlord and arms dealer, was ranked as the 81st best comic book villain of all-time by IGN in 2009.

"Iron Man 3" is scheduled to shoot later this year, in May most probably and will also star Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. Shane Black ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") will direct.