‘Shang-Chi’ director hopes to inspire a new generation with a new hero

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’  Destin Daniel Cretton speaks on the significance of putting an Asian hero on the big screen.

Audiences have been craving diversity on the big screen, especially when it comes to tent-pole projects like superhero movies, and film studios are starting to recognize it. As Marvel Studios has taken steps toward more representation, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will continue that upward surge. And while it will bring more comic book action to the massive franchise, its director is looking to do a bit more.

On the They Call Us Bruce podcast, Destin Daniel Cretton explained what drew him to the project. Getting to “put some new faces up on the screen” is part of it, but he also hopes to provide viewers with a new option when it comes to the heroes they see:

"“I didn’t even know why I loved Spider-Man until I was old enough to realize it was because I couldn’t see his face and I could imagine myself under that mask, and there weren’t any Asian faces to identify with in the superhero world. So to be able to give a new generation an option is really cool.”"

Shang-Chi is somewhat of a departure from Cretton’s past work, including his most recent release, Just Mercy, which he also considers to be a superhero film. But despite their differences, the two films still share several key elements:

"“It is a very different type of move than Just Mercy but, in the same vein, the emotional aspect and the ideas of camaraderie and family and connection is something that will definitely be a part of this movie.”"

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It’s clear that Cretton is taking a thoughtful approach to the film, and his point about giving viewers an option rings true. Just about all of the superhero films that were released between the ’90s and the 2010s were headlined by white, male leads, with some exceptions like Blade and Elektra. Things have started to turn around, though, as films like Wonder Woman, Black Panther and Captain Marvel achieved critical and financial success and served as inspirations for underserved moviegoers.

Of course, arguably the biggest reason these films succeeded is that they connected with audiences through relatable themes and ideals like the ones Cretton describes. We’ll see how he pulls all of them together when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings arrives in theaters on February 12, 2021.