Marvel's upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is making history in several ways. Not only is it the first Marvel film to feature an Asian lead, but it has also defied the 2020 curse and actually finished filming.
Simu Liu, who plays the film's titular lead, joined with director Destin Daniel Cretton to celebrate the milestone on social media. Bursting with smiles all around, the two announced the end of shooting on Instagram. While they rejoiced together at the occasion, each also celebrated in their own ways, such as Cretton taking a picture with his family captioned by a simple, "WE. ARE. WRAPPED!" contrasting a bit with Liu's more subtle, "We made a baby!!!"
Alongside the Instagram posts, Liu also posted a passionate statement about the film's cultural significance in the closed Facebook group "Subtle Asian Traits," saying "For all of those who hated us because of the color of our skin, or been made to feel less than because of it; NO MORE... This is OUR movie, and it will be IMPOSSIBLE for Hollywood to ignore us after this.”
Shang-Chi, based on the Marvel comic of the same name, centers on Shang-Chi himself, a martial arts master and potential future member of The Avengers. Along with Liu, the film will also star Michelle Yeoh (Star Trek: Discovery), Ronnie Chieng (The Daily Show), Awkwafina (Ocean's 8), and Tony Leung (In The Mood for Love). After halting production in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shang-Chi resumed filming in July and apparently kept a steady enough pace to complete shooting in decent time. Considering the film's production had only just begun in February, it's rather impressive to see this phase completed so quickly.
The reaction not only from Shang-Chi's stars and crew, but also from excited audiences should be enough to prove that diversity is always a worthwhile endeavor. It's difficult to put into words what it's like for someone to see, for the first time, a hero on the big screen that looks like them. It's easy to take representation for granted when the audience member rarely, if ever, sees a film without a main character who shares their skin color, gender, sexuality, etc. So hopefully people outside of Shang-Chi's most direct target audience are willing to listen to those who will undoubtedly feel a real connection to the film.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is sure to be important to a large portion of its audience. Its conclusion of the filming process likely put it back on the radar for many movie fans, and hype for its upcoming release will undoubtedly only continue to rise until audiences can finally enjoy it.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to release on July 9th, 2021.
Source: Deadline