For Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, jumping into his first major feature film project was daunting until he received advice from his friend Ryan Coogler.
Cretton, who wrote and directed smaller, independent projects before Shang-Chi, had his concerns about working within a major studio system. Coogler, who had a similar career trajectory before helming 2015's Creed and 2017's Black Panther, helped ease Cretton's concerns shortly after Cretton delivered a pitch for Shang-Chi to Marvel Studios.
"The thing that Ryan said to me, which really eased my mind, was the pressure is hard," Cretton recalled at a press conference attended by CBR. "It'll be the hardest thing potentially that you have done up to this point, but none of that pressure or complications come from the people you're working with or for."
Cretton previously worked with Coogler on the planned television series Minors before officially signing on to direct and co-write Shang-Chi in 2019. Coogler has since continued to work with Marvel Studios, directing and co-writing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with the production currently in principal photography for a 2022 theatrical release.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay he cowrote with David Callaham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters Sept. 3.