Marvel filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has taken to his current Spider-Man: Brand New Day press run to explain the delay of Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings, the 2021 MCU installment starring Simu Liu in the titular role of Shang-Chi, a superhero and martial arts fighter who becomes the leader of the Five Weapons Society.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings was written by Cretton, Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, focusing on Shang-Chi dealing with his father, who leads a terrorist organisation, and being lured into the hunt for a mythical village with his sister. Additional cast members include Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung.
The 25th feature in the MCU and part of its Phase Four, Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings grossed a global amount of $432 million and earned the ninth spot on the highest-grossing releases list of 2021, as well as earning a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 94th Academy Awards. A sequel was announced to be in development in late 2021, yet in July 2023, Liu expressed doubt that the film would still be made. Five years on from the original film’s release, Cretton clarified where the follow-up stands in a recent interview.
“We are developing a second one,” Cretton confirmed, but took a moment to emphasise that the COVID pandemic altering film and social landscapes is a root cause of the sequel delay.
“It was successful, but it actually came out weirdly,” the director explained. “It was successful at a time when a new wave of COVID was hitting, so it was successful, but also many countries were completely shut down to theatres at the time.”
“After that, there were just crazy changes all over the place,” Cretton added. “It’s just a result of the industry [recalibrating].”
The filmmaker was previously hired to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty but stepped away from the project to work on the Shang-Chi sequel, wishing to see the character explore the power of the ten rings. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has since been reworked by the studio into the upcoming and heavily anticipated Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for a December 2027 release date with many Marvel teams coming together to take down Doom.
Meanwhile, Cretton is due to release the fourth MCU Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo. Following the events of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, this film will see Peter Parker deal with having to erase the memories of those closest to him to save the multiverse as well as take on a new villainous threat.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits cinemas on 31st July.
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