Ah, the Marvel pantheon, massive in scope, so it’s not surprising that this day has come. Marvel Studios is going to be making a film for a character I’ve never heard of before. Which, let’s be real here, is not a deal-breaker. Lots of people didn’t know who the Guardians of the Galaxy where when they made their film debut. But I’m just letting you know that you don’t have to feel bad if you’ve never heard of the character Shang-Chi, set to get his own solo film in the near future.
That’s right, we’re getting another solo film and this time it’s based off Shang-Chi, a hero in the Marvel universe who is a master of kung-fu and chi manipulation. Originally he was the son of infamous villain Fu Manchu, and he has been tied to the Heroes for Hire team. Despite being less well-known, he has been an active part of the universe, even making an appearance in the Secret Empire storyline (you know, the one where Captain America was a Hydra agent).
The film’s director is Destin Daniel Cretton, who made his major film debut with 2017’s Glass Castle, and is currently in post-production with Just Mercy. This will be his first superhero film (with the two previous films being adaptations of memoirs), it’ll be interesting to see his take on the story. Also on board the project is Dave Callaham as screenwriter, who is currently working in Wonder Woman 1984 and Zombieland: Double Tap.
I think that Marvel’s choice to go with Shang-Chi is a good one, given that they can be more malleable with the story as he is lesser-known. One can’t help but wonder if they are attempting to correct the missteps they took with Iron Fist, or if they are attempting to further appeal to the ever-growing Chinese movie-going population. Either way, I’m interested to see how the project turns out, and what other characters are being given solo projects.
