Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” continues their commitment to bringing more authentic representation to the superhero genre. Following the likes of “Black Panther,” “Shang-Chi” is the first to feature an Asian as the lead, and incorporates the Asian culture into the film’s narrative. All of this not only subverts how Asian characters were depicted in the comics but also shatters the stereotypes that shaped racism and prejudices.
Now a newly released featurette celebrates how “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” will connect with Asian audiences. Director Destin Daniel Cretton comments how the title character’s story was personal to him. “I wanted to look at what a superhero could be. What it would mean to me to be able to add not only one character, Shang-Chi, but to add a whole cornucopia of Asian faces that are representing something I’ve never really seen before,” he said.
Clips from the bus fight to the underground fighting ring are seen throughout the trailer as the one which features Tony Leung and Fala Chen engaged in a Wuxia-inspired fight scene. So don’t expect to see anything new in this clip. Rather, see and hear what “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” meant to the cast and crew, and what will mean to audiences.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be here,” Liu said. The Shang-Chi actor said he was one of the biggest Marvel fans you could ever imagine before he boarded the project. “To be the first lead Asian superhero in the MCU, this is every kid’s dream,” he continued.
The featurette then turns to something more personal and resonating for those who had parents who immigrated to the US. “For many of us who grew up in the west whose parents immigrated, we never really saw ourselves on screen meaningfully,” Liu added. “Shang-Chi will be an important piece of that conversation.”
Writer Dave Callaham talked about the importance of how his Chinese American heritage helped influence the Shang-Chi’s story and what an amazing opportunity it was to write his experience in the film.
The featurette also takes a look at what it was like for the cast to work with Chinese Hollywood icons like Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh. While every MCU origins story has its variations, Yeoh says “when your storytelling is good it transcends the culture because at the end of the day we are telling a story about love, about family.”
Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
“Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” also stars Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Ronny Chieng, Zach Cherry, and Dallas Liu. It opens only in theaters on September 3, 2021.
