Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

***Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings*** is a 2021 American superhero movie based on Marvel Comics character Shang-Chi. It is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The movie is the 25th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The movie was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, from a screenplay he wrote with Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham. It stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside  Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung. In the movie, Shang-Chi is forced to confront his past when his father Wenwu (Leung), the leader of the Ten Rings organization, draws Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing (Zhang) into a search for a mythical village.

## Schedule

A movie based on Shang-Chi entered development in 2001, but work did not truly begin until Callaham was hired in December 2018. In March 2019, Cretton joined in, with the project fast-tracked as Marvel's first movie with an Asian lead. When the movie's title and primary cast was announced that July, its connection with the Ten Rings organization and its leader Wenwu were also revealed. The organization had previously appeared throughout the MCU. _Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ marked the first Marvel Studios movie with an Asian director and a largely Asian cast. Filming began in Sydney in February 2020, but it was placed on hold in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in August before completing in October, with additional shooting occurring in San Francisco.

_Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ premiered in Los Angeles on August 16, 2021. It was released in the United States on September 3. The movie is part of Phase Four of the MCU.

## Cast

- Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi / Shaun: A skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Wenwu. Shang-Chi left the Ten Rings organization for a normal life in San Francisco, and changed his name to "Shaun".
    - Jayden Zhang and Arnold Sun portray Shang-Chi as a child and teenager, respectively.
- Awkwafina as Katy: A hotel valet and Shang-Chi's best friend in San Francisco who is unaware of his past.
- Meng'er Zhang as Xu Xialing: Shang-Chi's estranged younger sister and Wenwu's daughter. Xialing is Zhang's first movie role, and an amalgamation of several comics characters, particularly inspired by Zheng Bao Yu.
    - Elodie Fong and Harmonie He portray Xialing as a child and teenager, respectively.
- Fala Chen as Ying Li: Wenwu's wife and the mother of Shang-Chi and Xialing who was a guardian of Ta Lo.
- Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist: A member of the Ten Rings who has a machete blade for his right hand.
- Benedict Wong as Wong: A Master of the Mystic Arts participating in a cage fighting tournament with Emil Blonsky.
- Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan: A guardian of Ta Lo who is Shang-Chi and Xialing's aunt. Yeoh previously portrayed Aleta Ogord in the MCU movie _Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2_ (2017).
- Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery: An actor who previously took on the appearance of the Mandarin and was abducted by the Ten Rings, becoming a "court jester" or Shakespearean fool for Wenwu. He has a close relationship with the mythical hundun Morris, and journeys to Ta Lo with Shang-Chi.
- Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu:
Shang-Chi and Xialing's father and the leader of the Ten Rings. Wenwu is an original character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) who replaces Shang-Chi's original comic book father Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu is a "problematic character" associated with racist stereotypes to whom Marvel Studios does not hold the movie rights. In the movie, Wenwu has taken on many different names, including "The Mandarin".

Also appearing in the movie are Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Xialing's right-hand man and announcer at her underground fighting club; Yuen Wah as Guang Bo, one of the leaders of Ta Lo; Jodi Long as Mrs. Chen, Katy's mother; Dallas Liu as Ruihua, Katy's brother; Paul He as Chancellor Hui; Tsai Chin as Katy's grandmother; Andy Le as Death Dealer, one of Wenwu's assassins who trained Shang-Chi in his youth; Stephanie Hsu and Kunal Dudheker as Soo and John, married friends of Shang-Chi and Katy; Zach Cherry as Klev, a bus rider who livestreams one of Shang-Chi's fights (after portraying a street vendor in 2017's _Spider-Man: Homecoming_); and Dee Baker as the voice of Morris, a hundun who befriends Slattery. Jade Xu reprises her role as a Black Widow named Helen from _Black Widow_ (2021), while Tim Roth provides uncredited vocals for his _The Incredible Hulk_ (2008) character Emil Blonsky / Abomination. Mark Ruffalo and Brie Larson appear uncredited in the mid-credits scene as Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers, respectively, reprising their MCU roles.

## Release

_Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ premiered at the El Capitan Theatre and TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on August 16, 2021. It was screened at CinemaCon on August 21. The movie was released internationally from September 1 onwards, and in the United States on September 3. _Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ is part of Phase Four of the MCU.

The movie was originally scheduled to be released on February 12, 2021, which was the first day of Chinese New Year. It was moved to May 7 and later on to July 9, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie was moved again in March 2021 to the September 2021 date after _Black Widow_ was moved to the July 9 release date.

### Box office

_Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ has grossed $224.5 million in the United States and Canada and $207.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $432.2 million.

### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 343 reviews are positive. The average rating is 7.50/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "_Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_ isn't entirely free of Marvel's familiar formula, but this exciting origin story expands the MCU in more ways than one. On Metacritic, the movie has a score of 71 out of 100 based on 52 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

## Infobox (film)

- **name**: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- **director**: Destin Daniel Cretton
- **based on**: Marvel Comics
- **cinematography**: Bill Pope, William Pope
- **music**: Joel P. West
- **studio**: Marvel Studios
- **distributor**: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
- **runtime**: 132 minutes
- **country**: United States
- **language**: English
Chinese
- **budget**: $150–200 million
- **gross**: $432.2 million