I'm pretty sure that Randy was joking about Bill Murray being cast.
The problem I see is that they're going to be looking for someone with star power to play the villain. Just look at a few other comic book movies and their villains:
Daredevil - Kingpin - Michael Clarke Duncan
Daredevil - Bullseye - Colin Farrell
X-Men - Magneto - Ian McKellen
Superman Returns- Lex Luthor - Kevin Spacey
Spider-Man - The Green Goblin - Willem Dafoe
Batman Begins - Ra's Al Ghul - Liam Neeson
And there are plenty of other examples. Granted, these guys aren't as big as Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise, but people recognize their name (or at least recognize their faces).
The sad fact is that there are very few roles in Hollywood for Asians or Asian-Americans. Most people know who Lucy Liu is, and that's about it (while hardcore film fans could also identify Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat). But let's take a moment and examine the most viable candidates who would both stay true to the character of the Mandarin and might also be recognized by the viewing public.
1. Jason Scott Lee - portrayed Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
2. Jet Li - all around badass from a number of martial arts movies.
3. Robin Shou - stars in the upcoming DOA, and portrayed Liu Kang in the Mortal Combat films.
4. B.D. Wong - Has acted in movies such as The Salton Sea, Stay, and a whole bunch of television episodes.
5. Daniel Dae Kim - portrays Jin on the TV series Lost.
6. Will Yun Lee - Named as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People, he has also had roles in Die Another Day and Electra.
7. Phillip Rhee - starred in the Best of the Best series.
8. Chow Yun-Fat - International superstar most famous for his roles in John Woo films. He would be my pick, by the way. This guy just oozes coolness.
9. Ken Watanabe - starred in The Last Samurai and played the "fake" Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins.
In my opinion, these are the best choices out there. They've all been around and might be recognized. Yun-Fat and Jet Li would certainly be recognized around the world. Let me know if I'm leaving out any good choices.
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