Guy Pearce addresses whether his Iron Man 3 villain, Alrich Killian, could still return in the MCU. Released in 2013, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black and is the last solo outing for Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. The film earned generally positive reviews from audiences and critics and earned over $1.2 billion at the global box office. Iron Man 3 follows the titular hero as he attempts to take down a terrorist leader known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).
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In a surprise reveal, however, the Mandarin is actually nothing but an act orchestrated by the real villain, Pearce's Killian. Killian serves as the founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), a company that eventually develops a technology known as Extremis, which essentially mutates people's genes and turns them into super soldiers. Killian himself develops powers due to Extremis and Tony must team up with War Machine (Don Cheadle) in order to save Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the American President. Potts, who has also been injected with Extremis ultimately save Stark during Iron Man 3's climax, seemingly killing Killian. Pearce has previously gone on record about his positive experiences making the film and has expressed openness to return.
It's now been almost 10 years since the release of Iron Man 3 but, in a recent interview with Comicbook, Pearce addresses whether there are any plans for Killian's return, saying he hasn't yet been contacted by Marvel. The actor admits that, at this point, he's "written off" the idea of returning, but still doesn't seem opposed to the idea if Marvel were to reach out, saying "anything is possible". Check out Pearce's full comment below:
"I can't say. I'm still waiting on an email back from Marvel. It's been a couple of years now, but I'll let you know […] I suppose I've just written off the idea because of what happened to Aldrich Killian at the end of Iron Man 3 but at the same time, within those worlds kind of anything is possible, and yet I still haven't received a call from anyone at Marvel. So I'm not sure if it's in the works, but who knows."
How Aldrich Killian Could Return In The MCU
Killian's death seems fairly definitive at the end of Iron Man 3, but his experiments with the Extremis technology certainly means it's not out of the question that he somehow survived. More likely, however, is that, if Killian does return, it's by way of the introduction of the multiverse into the MCU. With movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness proving that anything really is possible in the MCU in terms of what characters can return, it's likely that a universe exists in which Killian is still alive.
MCU is now firmly in what has been dubbed the "Multiverse Saga," with recently announced titles seemingly confirming that the franchise will be delving further into the concept of the multiverse in Phase 5 and Phase 6. Phase 6 finale Avengers: Secret Wars, for example, which is expected to adapt the comic book series of the same name and involve characters from multiple different universes, could be a perfect opportunity for Killian to return. Although it doesn't sound like anything is in the works just yet, Pearce's most recent comment suggests that fans of his Iron Man 3 villain shouldn't give up hope regarding his return just yet.