MARVEL PREVIEW
Marvel’s debut Asian headliner finally weighs in…
Shang-Chi, Eternals and more must-see MCU movies heading your way.
DIRECTOR Destin Daniel Cretton
STARRING Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung
As Phase 4 brings a slew of fresh pickings to the table, it also seems likely to reiterate something equally crucial about the MCU. On top of the studio’s aptitude for self-regeneration, Kevin Feige’s leadership to date has shown quite the flair for the long games.
Between (at last) Black Widow’s headliner and the introduction of the Eternals, Short Term 12 director Destin Daniel Cretton’s MCU debut split-kicks the points home. While Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings delivers the first Asian-fronted MCU movie, it also looks set to capitalise on story ideas seeded in 2008. The Ten Rings terrorist organisation lurked behind all three Iron Man films (and Ant-Man), and it finally looks like Marvel has figured out how to handle them.
On the strength of the wickedly confident trailer, the result will balance nimble surface pep with knotty plot-work, centred on a to-die-for cast and some gnarly action. Kim’s Convenience graduate Simu Liu is Shang-Chi, the kung fu master birthed in a 1973 comic, who we find entangled in a complex relationship with his father, Wenwu (Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung). Also known as the Mandarin, Wenwu wants Shang-Chi to commit to the family business – asskicking, assassinations – rather than wasting time on karaoke and selfies, as the trainee killer-turned-valet appears to have been doing for a decade.
As co-producer Jonathan Schwartz told EW, “The core of Shang-Chi’s arc in the comics is really a family drama.” Here, that will provide anchorage for a story brimming with myth, mirth, martial artistry and much more. Between appearances from Michelle Yeoh, a typically scene-stealing Awkwafina and some mean-looking assassins (Death Dealer, Razor Fist), the trailer dishes glimpses of fantastical creatures. And was that a glimpse of Madripoor, introduced in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier?
Either way, on top of Cretton’s racially sensitive guidance, dexterous plotting and a full complement of extravagantly fluent dust-ups seem certain to await. “Every punch is meaningful, every fighting style is meaningful,” promises Schwartz. They look rad, too. After all the delays, we’re ready to get in the ring with this one.