One of the upcoming Phase 4 Marvel films that I’m super excited about is Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. I’m just such a huge fan of martial arts films, and now Marvel is actually making one!
Thanks to a recent update on the production, we’ve learned that the movie will start production on November 1st in Australia. That update came along with a simple synopsis that reads:
In the comics, Shang-Chi is the son of China-based globalist who raised and educated his progeny in his reclusive China compound, closed off to the outside world. The son trained in the martial arts and developed unsurpassed skills.
We also know that the main villain of the story will be The Mandarin. Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12, The Glass Castle) is set to direct the film from a script written by Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2).
Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in December 1973 and was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. He is the son of a sinister Chinese mastermind and was raised and trained in the martial arts by his father and his instructors. He is described as a spy, a romantic, a philosopher, and an Avenger and is one of the best martial artists in the Marvel universe.
He is eventually introduced to the outside world to do his father’s bidding, and then has to come to grips with the fact his revered father might not be the humanitarian he has claimed to be and is closer to what others call him: The Devil’s Doctor. He also might be centuries old. The deceit makes them bitter enemies.
The film adaptation is also said to “modernize the hero to avoid stereotypes that many comic characters of that era were saddled with. The comic launched around the time that Enter the Dragon became a global sensation and martial arts films raged.”
The film is set to star Simu Liu, and in regards to that casting Kevin Feige previously said, “It’s been a really in-depth search to try to find somebody who will capture this character with all the dimensions that he deserves and it’s going pretty well…We found him.”
Liu recently shared a photo of himself at Marvel headquarters showing off his Marvel fandom:
A post shared by Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@simuliu) on
Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings will be released on February 12th, 2021.