LONDON: Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley is reportedly in the final stage of negotiations with the makers of "Iron Man 3" to play a villain in the movie.

If things work out, he will feature as the enemy of Tony Stark/Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. The exact details of the character are, however, being kept under wraps.

"Iron Man 3" is believed to be loosely based on the 2005 "Extremis" comic book series. Variety.com reports that the villain is expected to be involved in spreading a virus through nanobots.

Joining Kingsley and Downey Jr. in the movie will be Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle.

Production is set to begin in May this year and the movie is slated to release May 3, 2013.