With four projects now officially released, Marvel Studios is going full steam with its Phase 4 offerings. That continues on the big screen with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which will bring a whole host of new characters to the ever-expanding MCU.
Shang-Chi will be the first MCU film to star an Asian-American actor in the lead role and feature a predominantly Asian cast, a feat which Wong actor Benedict Wong celebrated.
Promotion has begun to ramp up ahead of its September 3, 2021 release, with a recently revealed poster showing off the film's ensemble cast. This followed a new teaser trailer emerging online which displayed a few teases at Shang-Chi's action sequences and climactic showdowns.
A new Marvel featurette has now been shared online, highlighting how Shang-Chi links to Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man...
MARVEL RELEASES SHANG-CHI FEATURETTE
Marvel Studios released a brand-new behind-the-scenes featurette for the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The teaser opens with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige speaking about the conception behind the film, who noted that Shang-Chi will go back to the beginning of the MCU's journey by revisiting a group from Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man:
"We're going back to the very beginning of the MCU. We have a keystone event and that event is Tony Stark becoming Iron Man. He's forced to build these weapons for an organization, and that organization was the Ten Rings."
Also included are interviews with director Destin Daniel Cretton, MCU newcomer Awkwafina, and leading star Simu Liu, the latter of whom talked about how he spoke his MCU casting into existence:
"When they announced this movie, I was really, really excited. Kind of tongue-in-cheek, I ended up tweeting Marvel, 'Hey, are we gonna talk or what?' I'm very glad I did that."
Awkwafina had nothing but praise for her co-star, saying that the role of Shang-Chi was "made for" Liu:
"He's so intense as this character. Shang-Chi was made for Simu, and I could feel his passion for it."
Closing out the featurette, Destin Daniel Cretton teased that the Shang-Chi will be "a crazy, wild, giant ride:"
"My heart is definitely in this project. It feels in line with everything I believe in, and it is a crazy, wild, giant ride that we are gonna go on."
The full video can be seen below:
THE TEN RINGS ARE BACK IN THE MCU
Marvel fans have hoped for the MCU to revisit the concept of the Ten Rings for quite some time now, so it is incredibly exciting that Shang-Chi will do so along with the 'real' version of the Mandarin.
Whether the film will delve into the organization's MCU origins is currently unknown. Given Marvel Studios' tendency to call back to prior films, though, it wouldn't be surprising if Shang-Chi provided some backstory on what the Ten Rings have been up to since the first Iron Man and potentially the group's history before then.
Past MCU connections aside, the cast and crew all seem incredibly passionate and thrilled about the upcoming flick. The dedication from all the creatives behind the kung-fu fighting project should make Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings a Marvel Studios film to remember.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings releases in theaters on September 3, 2021.
