“Whoever said that you could only RECEIVE presents on your birthday? Today, I’m giving you your FIRST LOOK at the teaser poster for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, ‘”
Said Canadian-Chinese actor Simu Liu in a post alongside the action-packed, mythically driven, martial arts heavy trailer for the upcoming ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ movie. As part of Phase Four of the MCU, ‘Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings’ is historical in the fact that it is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to centre on an Asian lead.
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The trailer is nothing short of exciting:
And a little confusing. After all, we’re being introduced to a relatively ‘new’ character. Despite having been around since the 1970s, ‘Shang Chi’ has been passed on for three Phases of the MCU, only now making an appearance after 13 years. Marvel first introduced ‘Shang Chi’ to ride on the demand for martial arts content back in the 1970s. Bruce Lee, the inspiration behind the TV show ‘Kung Fu’, kicked off the trend but Marvel was unable to obtain the rights to the show and boom! Out came ‘Shang Chi, the son of a of Fu Manchu (based on Saxon Rohmer’s pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu). But, more than half a century later – how has Marvel decided to make the story of the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand relevant today?
The ‘Ten Rings’ are not as they used to be
The problem that ‘Shang Chi’ would have faced with the story is the fact that the development of the character of Dr Fu Machu from Rohmer’s novels is known to be rooted in deeply racist ideas about East-Asian cultures. Rohmer wrote 14 different novels based on Dr Fu Machu, who he says he got the idea for after his Ouija board spelt out C-H-I-N-A-M-A-N when he asked what would make his fortune. Yeap, I know, this was what was “okay” in the 1910s. Now, this obviously wouldn’t fly in the 21st century – we’re NOT here for stereotypes or racism of any sort. As a result, Marvel has replaced the problematic villain with another, somewhat familiar one: the Mandarin. In the comics, the Mandarin is a genius scientist and martial artist who uses his alien technology (ten cylinders that he wears on his fingers) for a number of different applications. We’ve previously heard of the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, only for that version of the character (played by Ben Kingsley) to be revealed as a fraud, an out-of-work actor named Trevor Slattery.
Shang Chi’s family ties play a big role in his character – and are deeper in the movie than they are in the comics.
In ‘Shang Chi’ we see Wenwu (played by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung) as the Mandarin, founder and supreme leader of the Ten Rings. Wenwu’s inclusion in the movie has been a long time coming, with Marvel initially wanting him to be the main villain in the first ‘Iron Man’ movie (the plan was later scrapped). In the trailer seeing Wenwu say to Shang Chi:
“Son, it’s time for you to take your place by my side.”
This is because Shang Chi has long tried to distance himself from his father and his evil ways (the trailer shows Shang Chi living on his own for a decade), as well as his own past. Producer Jonathan Schwartz told Entertainment Weekly:
“The core of Shang-Chi’s arc in the comics is really a family drama. That was something that Destin keyed into really early on in our conversations, the idea of taking this broken family and this really dark, even abusive family background and seeing what that does to a child over time.”
Director Daniel Cretton echoed this sentiment, explaining:
“There was always a core relationship between him and his father that was extremely complicated. That was a big part of what I pitched. Using the movie to explore the psychology of a kid who was trained to be a killer when he was young. Now that he has broken out of that, how does he learn to redefine himself in the world and find the balance of what his relationship with his father should be?”
And yes, those are giant lions.
If you noted the appearance of giant lions in the trailer – they appear not once, but twice – you’re looking at a beautiful inclusion and personification of Chinese traditions. The giant lions in the trailer are are most likely Chinese guardian lions, symbols of protection that date back to Imperial China. Commonly carved out of stone and often referred to as ‘foo dogs’ or ‘stone lions’, they stood watch over places of note, such as Imperial palaces or tombs. In the trailer, they are seen fighting alongside the human army, doing their part in protecting them. The lions often appear in pairs – one male, one female to represent yin and yang.
Bringing the legendary film to life (the first of Marvel’s projects to have an Asian filmmaking team) is director Destin Daniel Cretton (‘The Glass Castle’, ‘Just Mercy’) and screenwriter David Callaham (‘Wonder Woman 1984’). The cast also consists of iconic Asians like Malaysia’s every own Michelle Yeoh and Ronny Chieng, as well as Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Fala Chen, and Meng’er Zhang. ‘Shang Chi’ hits theatres on September 3, 2021. Until then, stick around for more news on the first Asian superhero in Marvel’s arsenal.
*Cover image credits: @simuliu
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