Most of the MCU discussion this year has revolved around how Black Widow‘s calendar moves pushed back The Eternals, but there’s another Phase 4 MCU film that also got shuffled around on release dates and saw production challenges. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings began filming in February, and by March, the film suspended production while Destin Daniel Cretton was awaiting the results of a coronavirus test. And as we’ve all seen, nearly every short delay has turned into a longer one this year while movie theaters struggle to stay afloat.
Well, there’s finally some good news on the MCU feature film front: Shang-Chi leading man Simu Liu announced on Instagram that the movie has finally wrapped filming. “We made a baby!!!” Liu wrote. “We can’t wait to introduce him to the world in 9 months.”
Yep, it’s nine months until the film’s July 2021 release date. When it arrives, Shang-Chi will be Marvel Studios’ first Asian-led tentpole movie. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Marvel crafted the film with authenticity by almost exclusively pursuing an Asian cast and Asian filmmakers. Kevin Feige previously revealed that the film included “a 98% Asian cast” that will feature Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, and Ronnie Chieng.
Of course, one wonders how Disney will handle the rollout amid ongoing pandemic fallout. Over in China, where the movie has been expected to perform well, exhibition is booming once again, but if U.S. theaters still aren’t a feasible option for a wide release at that point, a decision will have to be made on whether any MCU movies will be going the Disney+-Mulan route, as will be the case with Pixar’s Soul on Christmas. Then again, we’ll have to wait and see if Black Widow can keep its May 2021 date before learning more about the Shang-Chi plan.
In the meantime, here’s another wrap photo from Destin Daniel Cretton.