When it came time to adapt the Ten Rings for Shang-Chi, Marvel Studios artist Andy Park said the film's team had to make sure they didn't resemble the Infinity Stones too closely.
Park, Marvel Studios' Director of Visual Development, spoke to Screen Rant about bringing Shang-Chi to life, which involved translating the Mandarin's Ten Rings to the screen. In the comics, they are worn on the fingers and each has a different color and unique power. But after so many MCU films focused on the somewhat similar Infinity Stones and Gauntlet, the creatives wanted to differentiate things.
"They didn't exactly know what are we going to do," Park said. "We know there's going to be 10 rings. But is it going to be these 10 rings, like in the comic? Then early on, [director] Destin [Daniel Cretton] had the idea of doing the training rings. That's when we start implementing that and very much like Kung Fu Hustle."
In Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle, a poster of which can be seen in Shang-Chi's apartment, Hung Gar master Chiu Chi Ling uses iron training rings both offensively and defensively in combat. Shang-Chi used this as the base for the mystical Ten Rings, making them a more unique weapon in the MCU.
"We did explorations of that as well, where maybe each ring has a different elemental property or can do different things," Park said. "I think at the end of the day, it got too close to Infinity Stones. So that's when the idea was, they're just more like 10 rings that are used for fighting... similar to blasting, but not exactly blasting, but they can do different things. They can have defensive qualities, offensive qualities, all that kind of stuff. That came along with us as well as we're developing ideas. They're like, 'Oh, that's cool.' And then that's how they implement certain things."
"Like you saw in the final fight between Wenwu and Shang-Chi, all the fighting's really quick," Park continued. "There's a moment where Shang-Chi actually steps on the rings like stairs and then he does a dropdown kick onto Wenwu. That's an idea that came from us, from our department. We're trying to figure out, what can they do? He can even use them to hang, do different things, swing. It's not just for throwing, they can do different things. That came from our department, our visual development department. Aleksi Briclot, Jackson Sze, Anthony Francisco, just a lot of amazing artists that just came up with different ideas. As we did that, they started to like, 'Oh, that's cool.' And then a lot of times, they'll come back to us and say, 'Hey, we have this other idea that's going to happen with the dragon.' Then we'll iterate on that. It's a very organic, collaborative process."
Unlike in the comics, where each ring has a unique power, the rings in Shang-Chi seem to collectively possess a range of abilities. They're used to blast, lash, propel, and defend, along with generating various types of energy. Another change is that they pass from the Mandarin/Wenwu to Shang-Chi. And the mystery of where they came from will have a big effect on the MCU moving forward if the Shang-Chi mid-credits scene is any indication.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now streaming on Disney+.
Source: Screen Rant