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. The movie's title and primary cast was announced that July. The movie's connection to the Ten Rings organization and its leader Wenwu were revealed. The Ten Rings organization previously appeared throughout the MCU. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is 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.
References
2020s English-language movies
2020s superhero movies
American superhero movies
Marvel Cinematic Universe movies
Annie Award winners
Superhero crossover movies
Movies set in Macau
Movies set in San Francisco
Movies about families
Movies about siblings
IMAX movies