‘Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct WWII Series ‘Facing The Mountain’ – Explores The True Stories of Japanese-American War Heroes

Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) is coming off shooting the martial arts blockbuster Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, priming audiences to embrace the first Asian-led superhero film from Marvel Studios and potentially making an impact as large as Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. I’m hopeful that the Marvel flick will continue to bust more Hollywood myths concerning Asian/Asian-American leads being successful on a global level at the box office.

While there hasn’t been any official word concerning a Shang-Chi sequel, another project is on the horizon for Destin Daniel Cretton, according to Deadline. The outlet says he’ll direct a series adaptation of the novel Facing The Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes In World War II written by Daniel James Brown.

They came from across the continent and Hawaii. Their parents taught them to embrace both their Japanese heritage and the ways of their American homeland. They faced bigotry, yet they believed in their bright futures as American citizens. But within days of Pearl Harbor, the FBI was ransacking their houses and locking up their fathers. And within months many would themselves be living behind barbed wire.

The book focuses on the brave and patriotic Japanese-American soldiers of World War II that became war heroes. A group of fighting men that faced a paranoid United States government challenging their loyalty because they happened to be of Japanese ethnicity after the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor trusting the country into the war in the Pacific. Many Japanese-American families were sent to interment camps because the government claimed they couldn’t trust them and this led to many Japanese-American men to sign-up to prove just how loyal they were to the United States, giving up their lives and fighting for the country they loved.

It’s unknown where the series will land but Destin Daniel Cretton was originally going to direct the HBO Max crime series Tokyo Vice before Shang-Chi led to a scheduling conflict and Michael Mann was brought in to direct instead. Then again, WarnerMedia recently passed on the WWII series Masters of The Air from producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, which landed at Apple TV+ instead.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Shang-Chi’: Dallas Liu Reportedly Joins The Cast

Marvel Studios recently moved the release date of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings from July 9, 2021 to September 3, 2021 as they delayed Black Widow to that July spot.

There is now word of yet another casting addition to the Asian-led superhero flick. Actor Dallas Liu (Pen15) has reportedly joined the cast of Shang-Chi according to Deadline, however, the outlet doesn’t mention the character he’ll be playing.

Production wrapped last year with the filming primarily taking place at Fox Australia Studios in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They paused filming in early 2020 due to the pandemic but resumed last summer and was able to complete principal photography along with some brief exterior shots in San Francisco.

The film’s cast includes Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina as Katy, Tony Leung as Wenwu aka The Mandarin, Michelle Yeoh, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, Fala Chen as Jiang Li, and Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist.

Shang-Chi aka Master of Kung-Fu, as his title would suggest is an expert in martial arts and eventually in the comics was given the super-human ability to make copies of himself, not unlike mutant character Multiple Man. It’s unclear if we’ll be seeing Shang-Chi’s more recent power-set or if that will come later.

While unconfirmed, there is a strong possibility the film will attempt to introduce/tease the Atlas Foundation (base of operations is underneath San Francisco), which could lead to the superhero team Agents of Atlas joining the MCU. A recent incarnation has Shang-Chi as a member and Randall Park’s FBI Agent Jimmy Woo has always had a leadership role on the roster.

We’ll continue to hope that we’ll get a Shang-Chi trailer in the very near future.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Marvel Studios Might Resume ‘Shang-Chi’s Australian Shoot At The End of July

Following the recent development of the Avatar sequels resuming production in Wellington, New Zealand last month, there is word from Deadline that Marvel Studios is hoping to restart filming on Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings by the end of July.

Filming had been taking place at Fox Studios Australia facility in Sydney, New South Wales.

This comes after Australia productions were halted over COVID-19 concerns and director Destin Daniel Cretton self-isolating when it was believed he might have come into contact with someone that was sick with Coronavirus.

Like New Zealand, Australia has been able to keep Coronavirus cases to a minimum and this means they’ll be able to resume filming sooner than other projects located in other countries.

We’ll have to see if they’ll truly be able to finish the film to meet that May 7th, 2021 release date considering the current delays they’ve seen and new protocols might see completing scenes taking longer than normal.

Delays would certainly impact Thor: Love & Thunder being ready on time as there had been expectations to begin shooting this summer/fall.

SOURCE: DEADLINE