On the heels of “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel,” Disney and Marvel Studios have hired “Short Term 12” director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm “Shang-Chi.” This will be the first DC or Marvel movie to feature an Asian superhero in the lead role and have a predominantly Asian cast. Marvel has stated that it was their top-priority to find an Asian or Asian-American director for the movie. After the excellent “Short Term 12,” Cretton reunited with Larson for the misbegotten drama “The Glass Castle.”
“Shang-Chi” is being written by Chinese-American screenwriter Dave Callaham, whose credits include, yikes, “The Expendables.” Shang-Chi is supposed to be the Master of Kung Fu in Marvel comic books and also has the power to create duplicates of himself. I’m sold on Kung-Fu.
However, it does seem rather obvious that Marvel and Disney are adamant in creating an inclusive and diverse MCU, one in which the media will positively promote it to no-ends, which will result in, basically, free marketing for the films. No, really. Just make history, whether it is with “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel,” or this upcoming film, and you will have all the promotional marketing you need done for you, free of charge by the media and on twitter. I’m rather surprised nobody is talking about this aspect of the Disney game, but here I am telling you, this is the end-game, there is no doubt about it. The problem is, however, after the initial installments, can these inclusive films make as much money upon their inevitable sequels? After all, I can’t see the media narrative being as intense as it was with the original films because, well, the sequels won’t be the first of anything, they will just be sequels, and if anyone has seen “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel,” they would know these movies were heavily overhyped.
Also, I have to mention this, it helps that the lead of the film is Asian. This bodes well for the ever-elusive Chinese market that Hollywood keeps trying to tap.
Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).