Inside Shang-Chi, the MCU movie thats as culturally important as Black Panther

Date:
Sat, 04 Sep 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Description:
TechRadar sits down with Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton to discuss bringing Marvels first Asian superhero to the MCU.

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Shang-Chi feels like another positive step towards greater representation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Often criticized for its over-reliance
on white, cisgender male superheroes, Marvel has finally started to diversify the lead roles in its recent movies, most notably with Black Panther and
Black Widow.

Its a welcome, if long overdue, move and one that Shang-Chi, Marvels latest superhero movie starring its first Asian superhero, looks to build on. With nearly 60% of the worlds population living in Asia, or being of Asian
descent, its high time that an MCU film celebrated the continents
wide-ranging cultures and societal values.

Set after Avengers: Endgame, the film opens with Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) masquerading as Shaun, a San Francisco native who works as a valet driver alongside best friend Katy (Awkwafina). Here's our spoiler-free review of Marvel's Shang-Chi movie Shang-Chi ending and post-credits scenes explained How to watch the Marvel movies in order

When assassins attack Shang-Chi and steal his mothers pendant, hes forced to head home and reunite with his estranged father Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) and sister Xialing (Menger Zhang). Shang-Chi must also deal with the Ten Rings: a criminal organization led by Wenwu, who wields the all-powerful titular bracelets.

Ahead of Shang-Chis release, TechRadar sat down with director Destin Daniel Cretton to discuss the importance of making a superhero movie that authentically captures the Asian (and Asian American) experience. We also chatted about the films frenetic fight sequences and what the future holds
for Shang-Chi in the MCU. A heroic reinvention (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

Shang-Chi is a character whose comic history is synonymous with negative
Asian stereotypes. The Marvel superhero made his print debut in 1973 but, in the near 50-year period since, Shang-Chis various comic series have come packaged with racially insensitive names and clichs.

Doing justice to Shang-Chi meant that Marvel needed to eliminate the negative stereotypes associated with the character. Renaming Shang-Chis father (Xu Wenwu) and the mystical dragon (the Great Protector), which inhabits the pocket dimension village known as Ta Lo, were well-received first steps, but more was needed.

So Shang-Chis origins were also updated for his live-action debut. With the film opening before he flees to the US as a teenager, audiences find
Shang-Chi living a secret life as Shaun a far cry from his comic counterpart who was born (and resided) in China until he was an adult.

Hiring an Asian American director, then, was vital to give this movie some creative credibility. After a lengthy worldwide search, Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, The Glass Castle) was tapped for the role. Initially hesitant to helm a superhero movie, Cretton says that Marvels desire to update Shang-Chi for the present day, coupled with authentically capturing the Asian experience, was key to him eventually signing on.

I never had a superhero that I could dress up like on Halloween or someone
who looked enough like me when I was a kid, Cretton tells us. They [Marvel] wanted to tell this story in the right way and avoid every Asian stereotype thats been hovering around for a long time. To be able to do that for another generation of young kids was really exciting to me.

Like Black Panther, whose sizable cast was made up of numerous Black actors, Shang-Chis line-up predominantly comprises many well-known Asian actors as well as newcomers.

Established stars in Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love), Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians), Fala Chen (The Undoing) and Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) all feature. Meanwhile, rising star Simu Liu (Bad Blood) and Menger Zhang, in her first-ever film role, play Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing respectively.

With 13 members of its cast of Asian descent, Cretton believes that Shang-Chi will be as culturally significant for Asian populations as Black Panther was for Black communities.

Growing up, my friends were mainly Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, he says. When I went to mainland USA for the first time, I felt out of place. Someone came up to me in a bar and called me Bruce Lee and I realized Oh
yeah, Im different here. Now, I cant wait for people to meet our characters. Theyre all of Asian descent and from similar ethnic backgrounds, but theres such a large array of personalities and Im excited for both Asian and non-Asian people to notice that were just like everyone else. Bruising
battles and future films (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

While Marvel wanted to avoid insensitive stereotypes in Shang-Chi, the studio was keen to retain one key aspect from the characters comic series: martial arts.

Known as the Master of Kung Fu, Shang-Chi is an expert in numerous fighting styles. So honoring each form of combat, as well as Kung Fu cinema, was as important to the movies chief creative team as other aspects of its production.

The hiring of the late Bradley James Allan (Rush Hour 2, Shanghai Noon) as a second unit director and supervising stunt coordinator was key to the films martial arts authenticity. Expert choreographers, movement artists and
parkour masters were also drafted in from Mongolia, Australia and Canada to craft Shang-Chis battle sequences.

With fighting styles ranging from Hong Quan to meditative Taiji, and Krav
Maga to Wushu, Shang-Chis close-quarters combat is physically and visually impressive.

Cretton, though, singles out the films bus battle, where Shang-Chi is
attacked by the Ten Rings for the first time, as the most challenging to
film. With actors brawling in the bus enclosed environment on both a built set and a real-life moving vehicle it proved to be a testing sequence to shoot.

We shot in an accordion bus that was 20 feet up in the air, Cretton explains. And that was in a gimbal that could move, twist and go through a 45-degree angle. All of those turns were timed to the practical shots that we got in
San Francisco.

"We had a real bus going down the hill actually crashing into cars that,
along with Brad and his teams choreography, brought added energy and humor to that fight. There was lots of coordination between departments to make sure that everything made sense and was cohesive, and it turned out to be my favorite experience in the movie.

Shang-Chi should feature prominently in the MCUs future. The films ending and post-credits scenes tease the characters involvement in Phase 4 and beyond but, right now, Cretton is unsure where his story goes from here.

Those ideas [for sequels or cameo appearances] are ongoing, he teases. And they have been since production began. Which direction will Marvel go in the future? Im not sure, but I can assure you that its very exciting.

Regardless of where Shang-Chi appears next, the characters live-action debut is another purposeful step forward for the MCU.

Where Black Panther celebrated Black communities, and Captain Marvel and
Black Widow led the way in gender equality (albeit for a superhero movie series), Shang-Chi belatedly brings an authentic focus on Asia that had been missing from Marvels multi-billion dollar empire.

Marvel wanted to tell this story in the right way Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton

As part of that quartet, Shang-Chi is helping to usher in more meaningful representation in the MCU.

Marvels Eternals will introduce the first openly gay and deaf superheroes to the worlds biggest cinematic universe. Ms Marvel will introduce a Muslim hero in Kamala Khan on Disney Plus, while Marvels She-Hulk TV show will continue
to build out the MCUs female hero line-up. Blade and Ironheart, too, will bring more Black superpowered beings to audiences worldwide.

After numerous movies and TV shows centered on straight, white male superhumans, each new arrival is a step in the right direction. Shang-Chi is another example that shows Marvel wants to increase representation in the
MCU; its just a pity that it took until 2018s Black Panther for the studio to do so.

Still, Shang-Chi is a historical moment. The characters first MCU appearance has been a long time coming and, providing audiences take to Marvels latest live-action superhero, it wont be his last.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in theaters now. Marvel's Eternals : release date, trailer, cast, plot and more



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/inside-shang-chi-the-mcu-movie-thats-as-cultura lly-important-as-black-panther/


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