Following the massive blockbuster successes of Black Panther and Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios is continuing to expand their cinematic roster of heroes to include previously underserved audiences.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios has tapped Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton to direct a feature adaptation of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu. Wonder Woman 1984 screenwriter Dave Callaham will pen the script.
The film will be the first Asian-led superhero film and Marvel is said to be dedicated to filling out a largely Asian-American and Asian cast for the film.
Destin Daniel Cretton previously directed Brie Larson in Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle and is currently directing the Captain Marvel star alongside Black Panther‘s Michael B. Jordan for the upcoming film Just Mercy, based on the memoir of Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.
THR briefly breaks down the history of Shang-Chi:
“… Born in China to a Chinese father and a white American mother, [Shang-Chi] first appeared in 1973’s Special Marvel Edition No. 15 and was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin after Marvel failed to acquire the comic book rights to the television series Kung Fu. Shang-Chi was trained as a martial artist assassin by his father, the infamous pulp villain Fu Manchu, but later became a hero after rebelling against his father’s ways.”
What do you make of this news? Are you excited to see a Shang-Chi film? Sound off in the comments below and share your thoughts!
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