Tag: Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings

'Spider-Man 4': Marvel Studios Hires 'Shang-Chi' Director Destin Daniel Cretton To Shoot Sequel Early Next Year
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‘Spider-Man 4’: Marvel Studios Hires ‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton To Shoot Sequel Early Next Year

In a surprising reveal today, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have selected director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm “Spider-Man 4,” the fourth installment of their Tom Holland-led string of MCU-set Spidey movies. This comes after Destin had previously made “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” and is still actively involved with its untitled sequel. An exciting update on the superhero pic that comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter and is backed up by other outlets like Deadline, ending over a year of speculation and rumors of who would take the reigns from Jon Watts.

Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning with an expectation that filming could begin as early next year. We shouldn’t be terribly shocked if Destin adds his own contributions to the script like he did with “Shang-Chi.”

Cretton had previously returned to the MCU with the upcoming Disney+ series “Wonder Man.”

Marvel Team-Up (1972) #141 | Comic Issues | Marvel

No official plot details have yet to be revealed for “Spider-Man 4,” but Marvel is in a very good position to do an event-level crossover with Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock (who briefly appeared in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as a lawyer working on behalf of Peter Parker) as the series revival “Daredevil: Born Again” has Daredevil, Punisher, and The Kingpin inhabiting the same MCU space as Parker in New York City. Perhaps, allowing the studio to bring the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man back to his roots as a crime-fighter and tackling crooks like The Hand (aligned with Wilson Fisk) and the New York City mafia by way of The Maggia (Hammerhead, Tombstone, and other mobsters could finally get their big-screen live-action debuts).

A potential mob war plot wouldn’t be exactly a stretch or challenge for Destin, as he previously tackled The Ten Rings in “Shang-Chi,” a criminal syndicate led by Shang-Chi’s father, Wenwu, and is now being overseen by his sister.

Other street-level heroes operating in the same city include Luke Cage/Power Man, Danny Rand/Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones.

The filmmaker had been once attached to make “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” before the project was re-tooled into “Avengers: Doomsday” with Robert Downey Jr. set to star as a version of Victor von Doom and landed the Russo Brothers as Cretton’s replacements.

A release date hasn’t been mentioned, but there is a good shot that “Spider-Man 4” could be ready for the summer of 2026 if production starts up in the new year.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton Turning Beloved Manga/Anime ‘Naruto’ Into A Live-Action Movie At Lionsgate

While just the other day it was reiterated by “Shang-Chi & The Ten Rings” actor Simu Liu (“Barbie”) that writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton would still be developing/directing “Shang-Chi 2” for Marvel Studios once he wraps up with his Disney+ series “Wonder Man.” It sounds like Cretton has landed another big martial arts project and this time it’s a manga/anime adaptation.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Cretton, who recently exited “Avengers 5,” has been hired by Lionsgate to write and direct a live-action film based on “Naruto.” Given Cretton’s experience with “Shang-Chi” and “American Born Chinese,” he seems like one of the best choices to put together this feature film adaptation.

Naruto Fans Are Toasting the Series' 21st Birthday

A coming-of-age story focused on a young and enthusiastic ninja named Naruto Uzumaki who wants to grow up to be the leader of his ninja village but also happens to have the spirit of a dragon inside him. 

“Naruto” creator Masashi Kishimoto had the following to say about the hiring of Cretton for the live-action feature film incarnation:

“When I heard of Destin’s attachment, it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his, and I thought he would be the perfect director for ‘Naruto,’” said Kishimoto in a statement mentioned in THR’s article. “After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for Naturo. In actually meeting Destin, I also found him to be an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input, and felt strongly that we would be able to cooperate together in the production process.”

However, the one questionable aspect of the project is that Avi Arad is producing, who has been behind a string of dud “Spider-Man” spinoff movies and a “Metal Gear Solid” movie at Sony that keeps stalling despite having scripts, a director with Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and Oscar Isaac playing the lead role of Snake. We’re a little more hopeful that “Naruto” doesn’t linger in limbo with Cretton now involved.

Lionsgate of late has been really making a push to bring back their status as the action genre studio with things like a “Highlander” reboot from Chad Stahleski (“John Wick” franchise) expected to shoot this year with Henry Cavill in a lead role, Guy Ritchie‘s WWII commando action-comedy “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” led by Cavill, their “Guardians of The Galaxy” proxy film “Borderlands” (Had reshoots from “Deadpool” director Tim Miller after Eli Roth bailed to make “Thanksgiving” instead of finishing his film), “The Crow” remake from Rupert Sanders (“Ghost In The Shell”), their “John Wick” spinoff movie “Ballerina” led by Ana de Armas, and a new satirical action flick “Boy Kills World” starring Bill Skarsgård.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Shang-Chi 2’: Simu Liu Reiterates That Director Destin Daniel Cretton Is Returning For The Marvel Sequel

Marvel Studios is busy these days after the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes were resolved last year allowing them to finish “Deadpool & Wolverine” with “Fantastic Four” and “Thunderbolts” next on deck. Another project that has been quietly in development is a sequel to “Shang Chi.” A less-than-stellar update came from the film’s main star Simu Liu (“Barbie”) suggesting that there wouldn’t be any real movement on the sequel until after the next “Avengers” installment that had director Destin Daniel Cretton attached. Well, Cretton is no longer making “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” as he exited with that project currently undergoing rewrites by Michael Waldron (“Loki,” “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness”) after he replaced Jeff Loveness (“Ant-Man 3”). Reports said the filmmaker would instead focus on his Disney+ series “Wonder Man” and the “Shang-Chi” sequel.

While speaking with ComicBook, the Canadian actor echoed previous media reports that Cretton would be focusing on “Shang-Chi 2” after his exit from “Avengers 5.”

“Oh man, I don’t know to be honest,” Liu responded to questions on when the sequel is coming. “I mean, those things are so above my pay grade. I just wanna continue to be a fan of it. You know, when I get a call of like, ‘Hey, this is what you’re in and this is where you’re going to show up. And, this is when you’re going to need to be blacked out for.’ That’s kind of generally what tends to happen. But, you know Destin is such a special filmmaker and we’re very happy to have him on the sequel. So, he’ll be working on that and we’re really excited to see what he comes up with. I think he’s going to do a brilliant job.”

Police Story III: Supercop" is a standalone speedway of antics and action – Tone Madison

Previously, Cretton told Cinema Blend that it would be a dream to land legendary action star Jackie Chan for the next installment. This wouldn’t be an insane notion as the last installment included two key actors from Chan’s “Police Story 3,” aka, “Supercop” with Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah (“Kung Fu Hustle”) taking supporting roles. A film that obviously influences the Marvel pic.

“If we could ever get Jackie [Chan] into a movie that would be a lifelong dream of mine. Yeah. Let’s put it out there.”

Marvel Studios has yet to date the sequel, but we shouldn’t be all too surprised if it ends up getting released between 2026-2027. Given that Marvel has a heap of dates in that range that haven’t been announced what titles would be in those spots to the public.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

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‘Shang-Chi 2’ Officially Moving Forward With Director Destin Daniel Cretton Returning

Yesterday, it was made official via Deadline that Marvel Studios is indeed moving forward with a Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings sequel with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to both write and direct the superhero pic.

Not only that, but he’ll also develop an untitled Disney+ series that will most likely involve The Ten Rings, now being led by Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing (alluded to in the film’s button scene). It’s also possible he could be behind other things like Thunderbolt or something new like an Agents of Atlas/Atlas Empire project, we’ll just have to be patient.

Shang-Chi has been one of the more successful films of the pandemic era earning a decent $432 million at the global box office and seemed odd that Marvel/Disney took this long to announce a sequel given how well-received the film was back in September.

Iron Fist actress Jessica Henwrick recently revealed she turned down a role in Shang-Chi to join The Matrix Resurrections, will Marvel circle back to the actress for another part in the sequel? Many fans are hoping that some Iron Fist incarnation/incarnations will appear in the sequel and could align with Marvel Comics’ new Asian Iron Fist being introduced in the comics.

While it’s not entirely clear what direction the sequel will go, co-writer Dave Callaham and Cretton revealed that they might explore the origins of the rings, which was ultimately cut from the first installment and teased in the film’s big button scene suggestion the alien nature of the items. Also, giving Marvel an excuse to visit the cosmic (Fin Fang Foom) and continue the fantasy side of things.

The Ronin shared our own ideas where the franchise could be going back in September.

Shang-Chi 2 is currently without an official release date, but we shouldn’t be shocked if cameras start rolling in 2023 with a debut sometime in 2024. Given the efficiency of shooting in Australia (even during the pandemic) I could see Marvel returning to the stages of Fox Studios Australia in Sydney for the next installment.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Jessica Henwick Turned Down MCU Role In ‘Shang-Chi’ To Join ‘The Matrix Resurrections’

British actress Jessica Henwick has been sort of a go-to genre actress for ages with roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Marvel’s Iron Fist series as Colleen Wing, Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out, and sadly had her scenes deleted in Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong.

Henwick’s next big role is playing the new character Bugs in Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections sharing screentime with Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s new incarnation of Morpheus (previously played by Laurence Fishburne).

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actress revealed some tough choices were made during the casting of the fourth Matrix film and had to turn down a huge opportunity, a chance to officially join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Henwick had her own leap of faith to take. Best known for playing Nymeria Sand on Game of Thrones and Colleen Wing on Iron Fist, she was up for a role in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at the same time she was up for the role of Bugs.

She could audition for a potential role in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, but wouldn’t be allowed to pursue both parts with The Matrix sequel winning out.

Both Disney and Warner Bros. knew about the other offer and gave her an ultimatum: She could audition for their movie only if she forfeited the competing project. Neither role was guaranteed. “It was a red-pill/blue-pill moment for me,” she says.

This would mean that Marvel Studios didn’t have plans to resurrect the Iron Fist series or her character if they were looking to give her a new part in the MCU. It’s unclear what role she would have auditioned for in Shang-Chi. Also, continues the stance that the Marvel/Netflix shows are not part of the MCU canon.

The Matrix Resurrections debuts on HBO Max and theaters next month.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

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Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital Renamed WetaFX After Tech Assets Are Sold For $1.625 Billion To Unity

In a massive deal, Peter Jackson has sold the tech assets and name of his effects company Weta Digital to Unity Software for a hefty $1.625 billion. This deal doesn’t mean that Weta won’t have an effects division as Jackson’s company will stay separate from the deal and has been renamed/rebranded as WetaFX.

Unity’s acquired company, the tech assets of Weta, will be titled Weta Digital, while Peter Jackson’s Weta visual effects business will remain separate under the banner of WetaFX.

On the tech side, with this transaction Unity acquires Weta’s 275 engineers and proprietary technology including Weta’s cloud service and tools including Manuka and Gazebo renderers, Barbershop hair and fur system, Loki physics-based simulation tool for water and smoke; and facial capture technology.

Weta Digital, now called WetaFX, has been a pioneer of digital effects alongside fellow VFX house Industrial Light & Magic. They’re known for working on films such as The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong, multiple pics in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and DCEU.

It’s nice to know that Weta’s effects division will continue under Jackson’s oversight and won’t stop doing visual effects for films/television, something that might have confused fans that maybe only read headlines about the deal.

Below is the original press release.

Unity (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weta Digital’s tools, pipeline, technology, and engineering talent. Ultimately, this acquisition is designed to put Weta’s incredibly exclusive and sophisticated visual effects (VFX) tools into the hands of millions of creators and artists around the world, and once integrated onto the Unity platform, enable the next generation of RT3D creativity and shape the future of the metaverse.


Weta Digital will join Unity’s Create Solutions focused on the continual evolution of Weta Digital’s dozens of proprietary graphics and VFX tools, such as Manuka, Lumberjack, Loki, Squid, Barbershop, HighDef, CityBuilder, and many more. In the future, with Unity’s deep expertise in real-time, these world-class artist tools will be available to creators through an accessible cloud-based workflow.

Weta Digital’s Academy Award-Winning VFX teams will continue to exist as a standalone entity known as WetaFX and is expected to become Unity’s largest customer in the Media and Entertainment space. WetaFX will still be under majority ownership by Sir Peter Jackson and helmed by CEO Prem Akkaraju.

SOURCE: WETA

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‘Shang-Chi’ Surpasses ‘Black Widow’ At Domestic Box Office Nabbing Pandemic Record

The pandemic hasn’t led to many wins at the box office, however, there is some good news concerning Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings. A new superhero film that gives Marvel Studios their first leading Asian-American superhero character and the latest addition to the growing ranks of The Avengers.

Shang-Chi has now slid past Cate Shortland’s Black Widow to nab the pandemic record at the box office earning an impressive $196 million, the estimated weekend numbers coming from Deadline. This comes alongside solid global numbers as well $342+ million, as the comic book flick is zeroing in on crossing $400 million.

It’s only a matter of time before Marvel announces a Shang-Chi sequel, as Cretton and co-writer Dave Callaham have previously teased ideas for Shang-Chi 2 having a connection to the origin of the ten rings themselves.

We’re curious to see where Shang-Chi where appear next as cameos/crossovers continue to be an important element of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the television division expanding as well with multiple unannounced Disney+ shows on horizon.

November will see the next big feature film with Chloe Zhao’s Eternals and the Hawkeye series that focuses on holiday adventure in NYC as Clint Barton mentors Kate Bishop.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Shang-Chi’ Heading Towards $36M In Second Weekend

Shang-Chi & The Legends of The Ten Rings is doing pretty decent all things considered, as the new numbers for this weekend have arrived. Deadline says the current weekend estimates for the film’s second weekend at the domestic box office is $35.7 million, which is a 53% drop from their $75.3 million opening and impressive $94.6 million four-day over the Labor Day long weekend.

The new Avenger has made quite the global impact earning $258 million and counting. Disney might have to settle with lower than normal international earnings as it’s looking less likely that Shang-Chi will secure a release date in China due to the increasingly disgruntled government censors that are now looking for excuses to reject western films.

There is already chatter that Eternals might also be passed over for Chinese date too.

Disney recently mentioned that Chloe Zhao’s Eternals will be keeping a theatrical window, not unlike Shang-Chi, meaning that they’ll be avoiding a hybrid release with Premier Access. They also announced four mystery MCU films for 2024, could one of them be for Shang-Chi 2?

It’s not so great for James Wan and New Line Cinema though, as the horror pic Malignant earned a poultry $5.5 million. Not the best news when the high-profile genre project likely is essentially a flop when production, marketing/distribution costs are factored in, it will be impossible for the film to turn a profit from the domestic box office alone.

Interestingly enough, a majority of Wan’s films that he directors or produces tend to do well at the box office, but Malignant, for whatever reason, didn’t seem to interest mature audiences this time around.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Shang-Chi 2’: Director Destin Daniel Cretton & Screenwriter Dave Callaham Tease Unused Ideas Carrying Over To Sequel

*** WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SHANG-CHI AND POST-CREDIT SCENES***

Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Rings is a massive hit thanks to director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter Dave Callaham, the two have been doing a bunch of interviews briefly commenting about the film’s post-credit scenes, which may or may not being lining up an idea for Shang-Chi 2.

I think folks have been more curious about Banner and Captain Marvel’s connection to the next installment, but the real tease presented was the lingering question of where did the Ten Rings come from?

We know that Shang-Chi’s father Xu Wenwu has had them for countless generations giving him longevity alongside other supernatural abilities.

Wong, Danvers, and Banner all seem to be stumped bringing in their opinions of the occult/magicial objects, world of science, and alien/cosmic side. In the comics, The Mandarin got his version of the rings from a spaceship alluding to their alien/cosmic origins, but Danvers doesn’t seem to be familiar with them.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, director Destin Daniel Cretton alludes to the rings’ origins nod in the post-credit scene potentially being similar to the comic books.

“Really? If you look into the comics, if you watch that end-credit sequence, it’s not– You don’t have to dig very deep to at least point yourself in a direction. (Laughs.) It’s definitely there.”

Screenwriter Dave Callaham went one step further during an interview with Inverse, revealing that they planned-out and shot two different origins for the Ten Rings, but ultimately decided making it more ambiguous in the final cut.

“There were scenes shot for the movie that suggested one origin. There were scenes shot later that suggested a different origin. We didn’t know which one we wanted to say it was.”

Also, hinting that origin might be showing up in a sequel.

“We intentionally chose that as the final version. We realized, in these two hours, it doesn’t make any difference at all where it comes from. That’s not the story we’re telling. But it sure is an interesting question we’d love to talk about later. Or someone will.”

To me, it sounds like the origin could a key element of a Shang-Chi sequel and would make sense to make it part of the post-credit scene, teasing that being a plot in the future.

Last month, the filmmaker mentioned to Comic Book about a desire to use a setting in another film they weren’t able to use in Legend of The Ten Rings. Another element that is seemingly being saved for follow-up films.

“There was one setting that we were not able to do in this movie, but I won’t say what it is because I really hope that we get to do it again in another film.”

Was he potentially talking about the home of The Xian or K’un-Lun/Seven Cities?

Given we saw a glimpse of The Raft with Abomination/Wong, that could also be another option.

Maklu-4 is the homeworld of the Makluans, a group of ancient alien space dragons and are responsible in the comics for the Makluan Rings aka Ten Rings (Mandarin gets them from Axonn-Karr). This is most likely is the comic book link Destin Daniel Cretton is talking about above and could suggest Fin Fang Foom might actually be showing up at some point.

It’ll be interesting to see how Marvel attempts to differentiate the Makluans from the more fantastical dragons like The Protector and Shao-Lao.

Shang-Chi 2 going cosmic would be extremely interesting.

As it stands, Marvel Studios hasn’t announced a sequel but it’s only a matter of time if they haven’t already started developing it. The first installment earned an impressive $94.4 million over the long weekend at the domestic box office and has been getting a solid reception from audiences/critics, a clear sign the studio will keep making sequels.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT & INVERSE

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‘Ant-Man 3’ Adds ‘Shang-Chi’ & ‘The Matrix’ Cinematographer Bill Pope

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania has been shooting at Pinewood Studios UK with director Peyton Reed returning for the third installment. As cameras have already started rolling we now have a new tidbit of information that has seemingly revealed the MCU film’s director of photography, the person behind the camera.

A crew listing for Tommy Holman on Arri Crew (spotted by Will Mavity on Twitter) seemingly confirms the cinematographer on the Ant-Man sequel will be Bill Pope, a veteran of the industry. Some of Pope’s credits include movies such as Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim, Baby Driver, The Matrix Trilogy, and Alita: Battle Angel.

You can see a screenshot of the site’s crew listing below.

Filming is taking place under the working title Dust Bunny and will see Jonathan Majors playing the film’s big villain, Kang The Conqueror. The evil variant of Majors’ Loki character He That Remains and is expected to become the next Thanos, being an antagonist in multiple MCU movies.

It’s been confirmed that Pinewood has their own version of The Volume and the Ant-Man sequel will be using it.

We previously reported that production is again returning to San Francisco and that Will Htay (No Time To Die, Rogue One, Solo, Andor) would be the movie’s production designer.

Interestingly enough, both Scott Lang and Shang-Chi happen to have made the Bay Area their home.

The cast consists of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope, Kathryn Newton as the newest incarnation of Cassie Lang, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet. There is also a shot that Canadian actor Dan Levy might have a role too after being spotted out to dinner with Paul Rudd.

There have been signs the next installment will be much bigger in scope than the previous two movies and having Kang’s true introduction will be part of that.

If you’re curious, the other cinematographers working on upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Ben Davis (Eternals), Eric Steelberg (Hawkeye), Carmen Cabana (Ms. Marvel), Mauro Fiore (Spider-Man: No Way Home), John Mathieson (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness), Baz Idoine (Thor: Love & Thunder), Florian Ballhaus (She-Hulk), Gregory Middleton (Moon Knight), Sean Bobbitt (The Marvels), Autumn Durald (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), and Sylvaine Dufaux (Secret Invasion).

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania will debut in theaters on February 17, 2023.

SOURCE: ARRI CREW