Marvel
Studios
president
Kevin
Feige
says
the
Shang-Chi
and
the
Legend
of
the
Ten
Rings
team
ensured
that
the
cast
and
crew
of
the
feature
come
from
diverse
Asian
cultures
to
avoid
racial
stereotypes
at
"every
turn".
The
superhero
film
features
Chinese-Canadian
star
Simu
Liu
as
the
first
Asian
to
headline
a
Marvel
film.
Directed
by
Destin
Daniel
Cretton,
who
is
of
Japanese,
American,
Slovak,
and
Irish
descent,
the
film
also
features
Hong
Kong
acting
legend
Tony
Leung.
In
a
Zoom
interview
from
Los
Angeles,
Feige
said
Shang-Chi
and
the
Legend
of
the
Ten
Rings
was
made
keeping
in
mind
the
authenticity
of
Asian
culture
and
the
global
appeal
of
its
messaging.
"Avoiding
racial
stereotypes
was
most
important
because
that
is
not
what
anyone
of
us
was
interested
in.
We
were
interested
in
bringing
a
new
Marvel
hero
to
the
screen,
who
could
inspire
people
around
the
world--people
in
Asia,
America,
the
East
and
the
West...
"At
every
turn,
we
wanted
to
avoid
stereotypes.
The
best
way
to
do
that
is
through
the
people
we
hired.
You
hire
amazing
people
who
are
amongst
the
culture
that
we
are
portraying
in
the
movie.
Dave
Callaham
(writer),
Destin
Cretton,
Simu,
Tony
and
Michelle
Yeoh,
all
brought
nothing
but
respect
and
talent
to
bring
this
story
alive," Feige
told
PTI.
The
film
updates
its
comic
book
origins,
letting
go
of
Shang
Chi's
father
Fu
Manchu,
reported
to
be
a
problematic
character,
and
replacing
it
with
Wenwu,
an
original
character
for
the
Marvel
Cinematic
Universe.
Feige
said
Leung
made
Wenwu
a
well-rounded
character
by
going
beyond
a
stereotypical
villain.
Leung
is
one
of
the
most
celebrated
international
stars
and
is
known
for
his
work
in
cinema
classics
such
as
In
the
Mood
for
Love
and
Chungking
Express
and
2046.
"We
at
Marvel
have
been
lucky
to
have
worked
with
a
lot
of
famous
actors,
people
you
could
call
living
legends
(but)
none
of
them
are
as
impressive
or
hit
that
term
legend
as
much
as
Tony.
He
had
never
been
to
a
Hollywood
set
before.
I
live
in
Los
Angeles,
sometimes
you
see
other
actors
around,
but
Tony
was
just
this
mythical
figure
only
in
these
amazing
movies.
"Meeting
him
personally,
which
I
only
did
briefly
before
the
shutdown,
was
incredible.
Wenwu
is
a
new
character.
We
really
wanted
him
to
have
villainous
overtones
but
to
be
this
well-rounded
tragic
figure
that
you
feel
for
in
a
deep
way.
Nobody
is
better
than
Tony
for
this.
We
had
high
expectations
for
what
he
will
be
able
to
bring
to
this
movie
and
he
surpassed
them
all.
It
is
an
extremely
special
performance."
The
producer
said
"Shang-Chi
and
the
Legend
of
the
Ten
Rings",
in
its
essence,
is
the
"celebration" of
the
martial
arts
superhero
who
undergoes
a
deeply
moving
journey.
According
to
Feige,
the
film's
storyline
comes
down
to
what
Cretton
had
pitched
to
the
studio
when
they
first
met
him
to
be
the
director
of
the
movie:
Action,
family
and
inspiration.
"This
is
a
Marvel
hero
origin
story
about
the
celebration
of
this
character
and
the
deep
meaning
behind
the
journey
the
character
goes
on
over
the
course
of
the
movie
with
his
father,
his
family,
leaving
his
home
and
returning
to
it.
These
are
universal
stories
and
myths
that
we
wanted
to
take
very
seriously,"
he
added.
Set
after
the
events
of
Avengers:
Endgame
(2019),
the
film
follows
Shang-Chi
who
is
drawn
into
the
clandestine
Ten
Rings
organisation,
and
is
forced
to
confront
the
past
he
thought
he
left
behind.
The
film
is
set
for
release
in
India
on
September
3.
Feige
said
Shang
Chi
has
been
on
a
list
of
"great
characters
with
great
stories"
from
the
Marvel
comics
for
almost
20
years.
"I
remember
my
first
two
years
at
Marvel,
digging
into
the
comics,
looking
into
the
list--which
had
already
been
generated
before
I
started--of
characters
that
had
great
potential,
that
could
become
great
movie
heroes.
Shang
Chi
has
been
on
that
list
for
more
than
20
years..."
"Having
introduced
so
many
characters,
we
said,
'Let's
return
to
our
list
of
great
characters'
and
introduce
the
audience
to
newer
characters.
Marvel
movies
have
ended
up
happening
at
the
right
time.
Because
if
we
had
tried
to
make
this
movie
five
or
ten
years
ago,
Simu
would
have
been
too
young
and
Destin
would
not
have
been
in
the
position
to
direct
it
and
Tony
might
not
have
been
interested
in
doing
a
Hollywood
movie,"
he
added.
Shang-Chi
and
the
Legend
of
the
Ten
Rings
also
stars
Awkwafina,
Meng'er
Zhang,
Fala
Chen,
Florian
Munteanu
and
Benedict
Wong.