With Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set to debut in a few weeks, the promotional campaign is well underway. The film’s premiere was earlier this week, as were some early IMAX fan screenings. The early buzz is positive, but there are still some concerns floating around – particularly from Chinese audiences. As first reported by Variety, Kevin Feige sat down with Chinese film critic, Raymond Zhou, to address some of those concerns and explain how the film seeks to assuage them.
Fu Manchu
In the comics, Shang-Chi’s father (and frequent nemesis) is Fu Manchu. A character who’s often viewed as little more than a racist caricature these days. However, Feige reassured fans that not only is Fu Manchu not in the film, but he isn’t even a Marvel character. He said:
“[Fu Manchu] is not a character we own or would ever want to own. It was changed in the comics many, many, many years ago. We never had any intention of [having him] in this movie… Definitively, Fu Manchu is not in this movie, is not Shang-Chi’s father, and again, is not even a Marvel character, and hasn’t been for decades.”
Does Shang-Chi Abandon His Roots?
Feige also talked about some of the changes made to Shang-Chi’s backstory. The comics often show Shang-Chi running away from his roots and embracing Western culture. But in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the character instead returns to his roots after initially running away from them. Feige elaborated on this, saying:
“That’s certainly one of the elements we’ve changed. All of our comics go back 60, 70, 80 years. Almost everything has happened in almost every comic, and we chose the elements that we like to turn into an MCU feature. So that story is not what this is about.”
Feige also discussed Shang-Chi’s character arc in the film, saying:
“That sense of running away…is presented as one of his flaws. It is a flaw to run away to the West and to hide from his legacy and his family — that’s how the movie is presented. And how he will face that and overcome that is part of what the story’s about.”
Are you excited to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings?
Source: Variety
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Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
