Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is expressing his interest in making another Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Cretton signed on to helm the film in early 2019 as Marvel Studios began fast-tracking development on an adaptation of Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin's character. The film had previously languished in development hell for over 20 years, with other directors attached having included original Blade helmer Stephen Norrington and Drunken Master's Yuen Woo-ping until the rights would ultimate revert back to Marvel Studios during its early stages of development on the MCU.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as the titular hero as he moves to San Francisco to lead a normal life, only to be drawn back into the one he thought he left behind as his father's clandestine Ten Rings criminal organization reemerges in the world. Alongside Liu, the cast for the film includes Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley and Tony Leung as The Mandarin. The film is already receiving largely positive reviews from critics and is projected to gross at least $45 million over its Labor Day opening weekend, which would clear the $30.5 million record previously set by Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake.
In time for the film's theatrical release, Cretton caught up with Variety to discuss Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While reflecting on future projects, including possibly reuniting with the studio, the director confirmed that he enjoyed his time working with Marvel Studios and wants to partner with them again while noting he has a few other things in the works he would like to get to first. See what Cretton had to say below:
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, there’s a number of other things that I have that I would like to jump into. But I would also very much like to do something else with Marvel. I had a very positive time."
After taking over 20 years to come to life on screen, reviews for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have certainly pointed towards the film being well worth the wait and Cretton's direction is a large portion of this success. Much like fellow independent filmmaker and friend, Black Panther writer/director Ryan Coogler, Cretton's position as director of the film marked an important step towards the film's cultural authenticity and many reviewers are drawing positive parallels between the two MCU films and their importance for the overall franchise. Though Coogler may be forging on ahead with another big-budget project in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it's understandable that Cretton would want to return to something outside of that world.
Much like James Wan's recent confessions of desiring to make a smaller-scale film with Malignant after his DC Extended Universe debut Aquaman, the amount of time Cretton has spent filming and putting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings together has been longer than his past projects. That being said, much like Wan and Coogler, Cretton's interest in returning to the MCU should prove rather exciting for those whose anticipation is high for the film and for those eager to see a sequel. The wait is almost over as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters tomorrow.
Source: Variety
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
- Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
- The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
