Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed how the new movie will tonally differentiate itself from past MCU entries.
"I think Shang-Chi is a cross between a classic kung fu film and a family drama, but it's also really funny," Cretton told Fandango. He went on to discuss how it will set itself apart from other Marvel films. "What I love about Marvel movies is that they like to change things up. I think they like to push limits within the world that they've created, but there's such a cohesiveness to the world that they’re creating too, so it still all makes sense."
"This movie is the first time that I think Marvel has put a lot of their emphasis in the action design and, specifically, the choreography," Cretton continued. "And it's their first time really tackling a more purely martial arts movie, which is super exciting to be a part of. They obviously didn't hire me because I'm amazing at martial arts movies, so there's also a very strong emotional, dramatic and comedic element to these characters."
Aside from the deep exploration of martial arts, Shang-Chi will also break ground for its predominantly Asian and Asian American cast and creatives. "I really fell in love with these characters as we were making [the film], and I think that is something that Marvel continuously does well, is create characters that you can really relate to," the director said. "And then the most obvious thing is that this is an all Asian and Asian American cast, which, for me personally, is extremely exciting to have been able to be a part of."
In terms of the promised family drama, Shang-Chi will be facing off with one hell of an evil father in Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings. "We find him in this movie facing things for the first time that he's been trying to avoid for a very long time," Cretton said of Shang-Chi's arc in the film. "I think his journey is a journey of self-discovery. It's a journey of stepping into who he is and what he's meant to be in this world. I think that's something that, at least, is very relatable to me — and I think it'll be very relatable to a lot of people."
Of course, father-son relationships are nothing new in cinema, and the MCU has never shied away from this trope. But Cretton hopes the film will do something different with the theme.
"I think with regards to the conflict between Shang-Chi and his dad, one of the things that we really wanted to remind people of is that, even though this relationship is very conflicted and has a lot of complications to it, there is always love," the director said. "There is always love there between father and son and the entire family. In a lot of ways that love is the root of their pain [and] that is pushing them to do things that may not be so nice."
Shang-Chi hits theaters Sept. 3.
Source: Fandango