When Disney/ Marvel officially announced who was going to be a part of the new phase four roll out, Shang-Chi was one of the lucky names to be announced, on what felt as highly anticipated as the NFL or NBA draft.
For those who are not familiar, Shang-Chi was the first Asian superhero to be released by Marvel comics in the early 1970’s. He was not only a master of Kung-Fu with no powers, he is also known as the best hand to hand fighter in all of the Marvel Universe.
This film will be an intriguing one to pull off, considering Shang-Chi joins a cast of others such as Black Widow, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ironman and Moon Knight, who all do not have powers.
He is the heir to his father’s cruel and torturous legacy, Wenwu, who’s character was created based on Sam Rohmer’s Fu Manchu. Wenwu was known for his ruthless killings and reign but when it came down to his son he hid everything from Shang until it was too late.
Although it has been made clear that this is a standalone debut, it is for certain that he will make cameos in other films and could eventually make his way to joining the Avengers. In the comics, he has worked alongside Spider-man, Iron Fist, Captain American and Iron Man, so we will be seeing a lot more of him as phase four progresses.
Finally, after four attempts though Marvel fans finally got the long awaited Shang-Chi, the first attempt; however, was in the 1980s when Stan Lee attempted to get Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon Lee, to star in the film which Shang-Chi was modeled after.
The film 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, which will debut on September 3, 2021 in theatres worldwide.
