Tag: Simu Liu

Posted on in Film News, News

‘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

Posted on in Film News, News

Simu Liu Confirms ‘Shang-Chi 2’ Is Delayed At Marvel Because Of Next ‘Avengers’ Installment

I think most of us were excited to experience how enjoyable and action-packed Marvel’s “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” turned out to be when it was released back in 2021. While it was a crowd-pleaser the announced sequel has seemingly been stuck on the back-burner as the studio navigates a heap of release delays along with a potential actors’ strike this month impacting productions as the writers’ strike is also causing some headaches as well (but in a good way when it comes to their ability for collective bargaining). Not to mention, a growing backlog of event films Marvel needs to shoot, like the next two “Avengers” films and their “Fantastic Four” reboot.

Well, it looks like Meta’s new social media app Threads will now be a new source of information sharing as the film’s star, Canadian actor Simu Liu, has revealed to fans there that “Shang-Chi 2” is still happening but unlikely going to be ready until after director Destin Daniel Cretton‘s finishes up on “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” The filmmaker is still officially attached to direct both the MCU installments and is also involved with the upcoming Disney+ series, “Wonder Man,” as well.

“Was told it would follow ‘Avengers’ but that keeps pushing back due to circumstances beyond my control. Hope to have more concrete news to share soon,” the actor responded to a fan on Threads inquiring about the status of the “Shang-Chi” sequel.

The next “Avengers” film isn’t set to be released until May 1, 2026, after being bumped from a May 2025 spot, and would suggest “Shang-Chi 2” likely won’t be coming out until sometime after 2026. Although, if Marvel decided to bring on a different director that could speed things up a little.

Another hiccup could arise as well, as Jonathan Majors is defending himself in court against assault/domestic abuse charges and more allegations of violent/unprofessional behavior are coming to light from a RollingStone article. Majors’ fate as the titular Kang The Conqueror in that upcoming installment of “Avengers” is currently unknown and the assumption is that Marvel, for now, will keep the actor in the role until otherwise announced.

We’re still waiting on an official release date from Marvel concerning “Shang-Chi 2.”

SOURCE: SIMU LIU VIA THREADS

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‘Shang-Chi 2’: Destin Daniel Cretton’s Dream Addition Would Be Jackie Chan

It’s really hard to miss the multiple nods to the films of Jackie Chan in Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Rings. Between hiring the late Brad Allan as the film’s stunt coordinator, a protege, and member of Chan’s stunt team. Not to mention hiring Chan’s Police Story 3 co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah in key support roles.

Marvel is officially moving forward with Shang-Chi 2 and we might have an idea who they might be gunning for after landing iconic Hong Kong actor Tony Leung as the charming and compelling antagonist, Wenwu.

During a recent chat with Cinema Blend, director, and co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that he’d be pleased-as-punch if he and Marvel were able to wrangle martial arts legend Jackie Chan for sequels.

“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.”

I’d personally love to see Jackie Chan play Shen Kuei, aka, Cat having crossed paths with Shang-Chi in the comics. It would also allow Chan to play another complex character playing both antagonistical rival and potential ally.

Shen Kuei is a man based in Hong Kong who dealt in espionage and counterespionage and who became known as Cat because of his cunning, stealth, and mysteriousness.

Destin is set to direct and write the sequel, but other than the button scene teasing the origin of the Ten Rings being explored we don’t know what direction the second film will go along with what characters they’ll attempt to use. However, seeing The Makluans (an alien race of giant dragons) and The Xian (god-like beings from The Seven Cities of Heaven) is likely extremely good.

The filmmaker also teased wanting to use a specific location in the first film but stopped short of revealing where that would be.

“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.”

Meanwhile, fans are crossing their fingers that the Shang-Chi franchise might be a good place to reboot the Iron Fist characters/mythology for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the film studio is seemingly rolling out new versions of the Netflix characters in projects like Hawkeye with Vincent D’Onofrio back as The Kingpin.

It’s worth mentioning that Iron Fist actress Jessica Henwick was asked to audition (not reprise the Colleen Wing role) for an unnamed part in Shang-Chi, only to make The Matrix Resurrections instead.

We’re still waiting for Disney to give Shang-Chi 2 an official release date.

SOURCE: CINEMA BLEND

Posted on in News

‘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

Posted on in Film News, News

‘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

Posted on in Film News, News

‘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

Posted on in Film News, News

‘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

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Shang-Chi’ Earns $90M+ At The Domestic Box Office Over The Long Weekend

Surpassing industry and studio box office projections, Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings is said to be looking at a four-day total of $90 million, according to Variety. This number could increase given we won’t have total numbers for Monday until later in the week and estimates can always go up and come down.

UPDATE: Deadline is reporting that the final weekend numbers are $94.4 million domestically for the four-day long weekend.

It’s three-day total of $75. 5 million not only did better than Black Widow, it also broke a Labor Day weekend record that had been previously held by Rob Zombie’s Halloween back in 2007, when the pic earned $30. 6 million. A weekend not really known for huge box office takes.

The film has already earned an impressive $146.2 million globally on a possible budget of $150 million, which should make Marvel and Disney quick to put a sequel into development very very soon (if it isn’t already).

While YouTubers are trying to convince themselves and their subscribers that the film is a flop, everyone else living in reality can see how successful the film is going to become given that it really doesn’t have much competition until October unless James Wan’s R-rated horror flick Malignant surprises everyone.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Features

The Xian & Seven Capital Cities Of Heaven Could Play A Large Role In ‘Shang-Chi 2’

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH SHANG-CHI & POST-CREDIT SCENES

After the recent box office performance of Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings and the stinger at the end of the film, it’s obvious that Marvel Studios will be moving forward with more films, possibly even a Disney+ series.

In the post-credit scene, Wong seems baffled by the Ten Rings and the objects’ origin alongside a possibility they’re now calling upon an outside force using a beacon.

One strong possibility might be The Xian or pantheon of Chinese gods in Marvel Comics.

They could be part of the expansive secret interdimensional inhabitance that Michelle Yeoh’s Auntie Nan was talking about when giving a rundown of Ta-Lo. Wenwu’s Ten Rings may have come from their dimension and might explain why there is a beacon calling to them, potentially because it’s a weapon of their making and Shang-Chi activating them in the village set it off.

One of the first instances of Ta-Lo in Marvel Comics was in the pages of Thor. There we are introduced to the Jade Emperor, aka, Yu Huang when the God of Thunder is traveling to the various pantheon of gods.

Basically, a group of powerful immortal beings that could easily either be friends or foes to Shang-Chi/Earth. There is a heap of characters that could be introduced some that jump out is Guan Yu The God of War, Yen-Lo Wang The God of Death, Zhurong The God of Fire, and Xi Wangmu The Goddess of Immortality.

Another interesting Xian character that might conflict with either Shang-Chi or Xialing could be the Demi-God Sun Wukong (The Monkey King). Best known from the iconic Journey To The West tale. In recent Marvel Comics, Sun Wukong is a crime lord that could easily cross paths with Shang-Chi on Earth with a magical staff, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, making him a formidable adversary.

The Immortal Weapons of Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, could also have a connection to The Xian and allow Marvel Studios to do a hard-reboot of Iron Fist/Danny Rand, K’un-Lun, and Shou-Lao The Undying after the lackluster Netflix series.

Iron Fist and K’un-Lun don’t really have to be that far apart from the new Shang-Chi franchise and could allow the new Avenger to have another MCU character that might have some insight into this secret world of gods and martial arts.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s love for the genre was highlighted in the first Shang-Chi film and it would be a fantastic excuse to reboot Danny Rand, unless they feel he’s too similar to the version of Shang-Chi they just gave us.

The Seven Capital Cities could expand the interdimensional realm of Ta-Lo beyond the village seen in the first film. The cities include K’un-Lun, K’un-Zi, Tiger Island, Peng Lai, Kingdom of Spiders, Z’Gambo, and Under City each having their own protector (maybe even their own dragon too?).

While not the traditional threat in Secret Wars, The Xian testing the might of heroes from various realms and The Multiverse seems like an interesting version the studio could with instead of simply rehashing the comic book incarnation.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Shang-Chi’: Tony Leung Talks Reinventing The Mandarin & Kevin Feige Disavows Fu Manchu Connection

‘Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” will usher in a brand new MCU superhero, Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, and makes him their very first leading Asian hero. However, it’s not the only thing to be championing about the upcoming film as Marvel wanted to tackle a new incarnation of legacy villain The Mandarin with Tony Leung’s Wenwu, the father of Shang-Chi.

The Mandarin was originally a primary villain of Tony Stark’s Iron Man and founding member of the Masters of Evil, a supervillain team that combated The Avengers in sixth issue alongside Zemo, Nathan Garrett/Black Knight (Dane’s Whitman’s uncle), and Chen Lu/Radioactive Man.

Tony Leung recently spoke with Elle Singapore (via Slash Film) and revealed the creative process alongside how he was able to reinvention of The Mandarin for modern audiences.

“When [Marvel] offered me the role, what they wanted was for me to create a brand new Mandarin, so I got to develop my character along with the filming. I’ve never approached Wenwu from a villain’s standpoint. Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He’s a man with a history, who craves to be loved. He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he’d turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot.”

“When director Destin Daniel Cretton first described the role to me, he said there are many layers to the antagonist role, and hoped that I could come on board. I accepted it because of the director. It just felt right. Plus, this is something I’ve never done before, to play an Asian supervillain. A chance to do something for Asia. I thought, why not?”

Shang-Chi and The Mandarin do have a racist history as multiple Asian stereotypes were infused into their comic book counterparts, but, thankfully, Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics have taken different approaches over the years.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige spoke towards those racist origins by disavowing Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi’s original comic book father. As Feige points out to Chinese outlet Sina Weibo (via Variety) it’s a character Marvel has had zero connection with for ages.

“Fu Manchu is not a Marvel character. Fu Manchu is not a character we own or would ever want to own. And that was changed in the comics many, many years ago. And we never had any intention of doing that in this movie. Fu Manchu is not in this movie in any way, shape, or form…. He was such an offensive figure and was never anything we had any interest in doing. We want heroes that look like all our fans around the world and heroes that our fans can look up to and feel that wish fulfillment to be a part of. And it’s about inviting people into our world, not keeping people out of it or keeping people separate from it. So, definitively, Fu Manchu is not in this movie, is not Shang-Chi’s father, has not been for decades. And again, is not even a Marvel character.”

Feige also said the following about Tony Leung’s Wenwu, who is one of the key elements of the film that is getting a lot of buzz.

“This is a very unique character that you can almost, almost not even call a villain. This is a story of love between a father and a son, but misunderstanding and conflict, and that’s what we’re anxious for people to see in the movie.”

‘Shang-Chi’ will hit theaters exclusively on September 3.

SOURCE: ELLE SINGAPORE & SINA WEIBO