“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, an indie film veteran whose credits include “Short Term 12” and “The Glass Castle.” Cretton most recently directed the legal drama “Just Mercy,” starring “Black Panther” favorite Michael B. Jordan.” The cast of “Shang-Chi” includes Simu Liu as Shang-Ch and Tony Leung as the Mandarin, plus Awkwafina, Ronny Chieng, and Michelle Yeoh in undisclosed roles.
Simu Liu will be getting his big break with “Shang-Chi,” although he had a well-received role on the CBC sitcom “Kim’s Convenience.” While the actor appeared as an extra in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim,” never before has Liu had a prominent role in a feature film. As the eponymous superhero, Liu will become the first Asian superhero to lead a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor said earlier this year that Cretton played an important role in taking the pressure off of the role.
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“It was very clear and very important to him that I go in feeling as free as possible,” Liu said. “Because I think it’s very normal to feel nervous and it’s very normal to feel like you want to do a really good job. But where it starts to impact your freeness as an actor is where maybe we could tone it down a little bit.”
Liu continued, “He really helped me realize that, as much as you can put pressure on yourself, in any other time of the day when you’re on set and you’re ready to work, you’ve got to just throw it all away and be free.”
Disney is scheduled to release “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in theaters September 3, 2021. Watch the first trailer for the comic book tentpole in the video below.
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