Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings Production Delayed as Director Awaits COVID-19 Test Result

While the Coronavirus or COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, it has slowly been affecting the movie industry.  As a result, several movies have already been delayed due to the outbreak which include Fast 9, Mulan, Antlers, New Mutants, and The Quiet Place 2. It remains to be seen if it will delay the upcoming release of Black Widow in May. However, this doesn’t mean that COVID-19 has not affected other Marvel Cinematic Universe properties.

Just this week, it was reported that the production for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in Prague was postponed due to the country’s government restrictions. This is on top of the rumor that the Disney+ show might be getting rewrites because of the show’s storyline having similarities to the Coronavirus outbreak. On top of that, it seems that another MCU property in the form of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been affected by the virus.

NEWS

Per Hollywood Reporter, the first-unit production of Shang-Chi Legend of the Ten Rings has been delayed as director Destin Daniel Cretton has isolated himself from the rest of the crew as he awaits the results of a COVID-19 test. Cretton decided to move forward with a test since he has a newborn baby. Marvel and Disney prepared a statement regarding the matter and they said that this was done “in an abundance of caution.” You can check the full note to the movie’s crew below: 

As many of you know, Destin, our director, has a new born baby. He wanted to exercise additional caution given the current environment and decided to get tested for Covid-19 today. He is currently self-isolating under the recommendation of his doctor. While he waits for the results of the test, we are suspending 1st unit production in an abundance of caution until he gets the results this coming week. Second unit and off production will continue as normal. We will reach out to everyone by Tuesday for the latest update.

 

This is an unprecedented time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work through this.

While the delay in first unit production will be suspended “until he gets the result this coming week,” insiders insisted that “Shang-Chi is not shutting down and second unit and other production aspects will continue to move ahead.”

Lead actor Simu Liu has confirmed this report with a statement in his recent Instagram post:

WHAT THIS MEANS

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings just recently started production in Australia as evidenced by recent set photos that have been circulating on social media. This means that the on-location production is still in its earlier stages. The first set photos that were revealed did not feature either of the film’s leads and likely did not show a major plot point in the film. While concerns are inevitable, the initiative of Cretton isolating himself from the rest of the cast and crew is commendable.

The cautious nature of the studio is understandable given the location of the film’s production. It has been reported that Australia currently has 156 confirmed cases along with three confirmed deaths. All things considered, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they decided to postpone the production of Shang-Chi entirely even after the test results come back. With the ongoing pandemic, it is getting more likely that the production of several MCU properties is going to be affected moving forward. Whatever the case may be, the safety of all involved cast and crew members will surely be prioritized.