Marvel Studios Is Developing a SHANG-CHI Feature Film
Marvel Studios is putting a new film into development based on the Asian superhero Shang-Chi, and they have hired Chinese-American scribe Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2) to write the script.
According to Deadline, this film is being put on the fast-track, and the studio is already looking at a number of Asian and Asian-American directors “who want to do something as potentially monumental as was accomplished in Marvel’s first viable Best Picture candidate, Black Panther.”
The goal for for Marvel is do something similar with Shang-Chi that they did with Black Panther, by introducing “a new hero who blends Asian and Asian American themes, crafted by Asian and Asian American filmmakers.”
Clearly the studio is taking big important leaps with diversity and inclusion in their future films, both in front of and behind the camera.
For those of you not familiar with Shang-Chi, he first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in December 1973, and was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. He is the son of a sinister Chinese mastermind and was raised and trained in the martial arts by his father and his instructors. He is described as a spy, a romantic, a philosopher, and an Avenger and is one of the best martial artists in the Marvel universe.
He is eventually introduced to the outside world to do his father’s bidding, and then has to come to grips with the fact his revered father might not be the humanitarian he has claimed to be and is closer to what others call him: The Devil’s Doctor. He also might be centuries old. The deceit makes them bitter enemies.
The report goes on to say that the script will “modernize the hero to avoid stereotypes that many comic characters of that era were saddled with. The comic launched around the time that Enter the Dragon became a global sensation and martial arts films raged.”
This character may not be one of the most popular or best known in the Marvel Universe, but the studio has a great track record of making great films with these characters, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
What do you all think about Shang-Chi getting his own Marvel movie? Who would you like to see direct and star in the film?