Welcome the newest MCU superhero, Shang-Chi, to the big screen! The character, played by Simu Liu, makes his live-action debut as the first Asian protagonist in a Marvel movie. SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS is an adventurous, action-packed fantasy built around family. Shang-Chi must confront a past he chose to leave after the infamous Ten Rings organization resurfaces. His friend Katy (Akwafina) also gets caught up in the web.
Marvel Studios tapped up and coming filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (JUST MERCY, SHORT TERM 12) to direct the movie, and he talked to us about what it was like taking the lead on such an iconic film.
“Honestly, I didn't start off meeting with Marvel thinking that I would ever get a chance to direct the movie,” Cretton said. “But, I really, as an Asian American, I just wanted to put my voice into the ring of potentially where they might take the character or things to avoid and I really connected with Jonathan [Schwartz], our producer, and eventually found myself pitching an idea that they hired me for.”
As SHANG-CHI is full of hard-hitting martial arts battles, this Marvel movie is uniquely packed with eye-popping fight and action scenes. Cretton shared his experience working with the stunt team.
“It was a brand new experience for me being able to work with a cinematographer like Bill Pope, who has done some of the best action shooting I think arguably in film history, and also working alongside Brad Allen, who was the head of our stunt team,” he said.
“He [Brad Allen] was not only trained under Jackie Chen, but he has really honed the craft of combining comedy with his action sequences ...he also brought in choreographers who were able to really explore the different styles of martial arts that are represented in this movie, some of which you can describe as elegant and beautiful and emotional, and to be able to describe fight scenes with those adjectives is something I never thought we would be able to have in this movie and it’s really wonderful to experience that.”
Check out our full interview with Destin Daniel Cretton below:
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS is in theatres now!
All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.