The latest news from Marvel is there’s a new movie in the works for Marvel superhero Shang-Chi. Information is very limited at the moment with no director or actors cast but rumor has is Expendables co-writer Dave Callaham is onboard to write the screenplay. He also co-wrote the upcoming Wonder Women 1984.
Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973 coincidently to cash in on the martial arts craze Enter the Dragon created. Quite obviously based on Bruce Lee, He appeared in further issues before the title was changed to The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu. They proved very popular and run all the way to 1985 issue 125. Since then he’s mainly made guest appearances in other characters comics such as Spiderman, Iron Fist, Wolverine etc.
Much like Batman, Shang Chi has no powers or special abilities but is a master of martial arts. He has beaten numerous superhuman opponents. He is a master of Chi, has demonstrated the ability to dodge bullets from snipers’ rifles and machine guns and is a master of various weapons such as Kali stick, Nunchakus and throwing shurikens.
With the unfortunate cancellation of Iron Fist which I actually enjoyed and the rest of the Marvel shows on Netflix including very Bizarrely, Daredevil. Which in my opinion the best of them all and still hugely popular creating outcry over its cancellation. Shang-Chi could be just what we need. Let’s face it, apart from Iron Fist, none of the Marvel characters are primary focuses on the arts. Yes, they certainly are adept like Captain America and Black Panther but non-live and breathe martial arts like Iron Fist and Shang-Chi.
This would be the first Asian superhero focused movie. As I said there’s no casting yet but they couldn’t possibly use anything other than an Asian martial arts actor. In terms of casting a lot of people will probably suggest their old reliables like Donnie Yen but the guys getting a bit old for Shang-Chi. Although they dont have a ton of recognition, stars like Jon Foo, Kane Kosugi, Ilram Choi, Johnny Nguyen or even Lewis Tan would all nail it, create some truely awesome fight scenes and look the part too.
I for one would love to see and proper martial arts superhero to cross over into the other Marvel movies. Share your thoughts in the comments.
