Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton reveals that Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler eased his fears about making the movie. The Marvel film follows the character Shang-Chi, an expert martial artist who chooses to leave the Ten Rings Organization, a notorious assassin group. He seeks haven in San Francisco and attempts to begin a new life. Along the way, Shang-Chi must grapple with his past and his father’s legacy. Introduced as an installment of Phase 4 of the MCU, the movie is slated for release on September 3. The star-studded cast includes Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng.
Like Coogler, who gained acclaim for his feature directorial debut Fruitvale Station, Cretton originally received attention for his indie work. In 2013, he directed the independent film Short Term 12, which eventually became a critical darling and spotlighted the performance of Brie Larson. Since then, Cretton has overseen a number of well-received films, including The Glass Castle in 2017 and Just Mercy in 2019. Notably, Just Mercy featured Marvel alums Larson and Michael B. Jordan.
According to Slashfilm, Cretton described his hesitation when it initially came to leading a Marvel film. As he explained, he wasn’t quite sure about whether or not he should direct a large studio project:
“I was really scared of stepping into a big studio movie like this and scared of what it might do to me…I had a lot of fears, and the thing that Ryan said to me, which…really eased my mind was, ‘The pressure is hard, it’ll be the hardest thing potentially that you have done up to this point. But none of that pressure or none of those complications come from the people that you’re working with, or for.’”
In prior interviews, Cretton also explained that his reticence dissipated after he realized the cultural impact of a blockbuster superhero film featuring an Asian protagonist. As a filmmaker of Japanese descent, Cretton understood the powerful ways in which cinema could shape the experiences of young children. According to Cretton, he chose to dress up as Spiderman as a kid because he could wear a mask and look like the webbed hero. As a result, Cretton celebrated the production of a Marvel film that starred a predominantly Asian cast.
Considering the impressive scope of Cretton’s filmography, it will be exciting to see how he shapes the overall story of comic book hero Shang-Chi. Within Hollywood, a significant gap remains when it comes to nuanced storytelling told by and for communities of varied races and ethnicities. As lead Simu Liu has noted, it is certainly about time that Marvel introduces a narrative focused on a character of Asian heritage. It is also fortunate that Cretton has been able to openly discuss his thoughts about the project with other Marvel filmmakers, including Coogler.
Source: Slashfilm
