Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct Marvel’s First Asian-Led Film ‘Shang-Chi’

In a big power move by your super mates over at Marvel, director Destin Daniel Cretton has been hired to helm the studio’s first Asian-led film about kung fu master and superhero Shang-Chi.

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Created in the 1970s, Shang-Chi is a Chinese criminal mastermind’s son who became a hero after finding out about his crime background. Shang-Chi was trained as a martial artist assassin by his father, the infamous pulp villain Fu Manchu, but later became a hero after rebelling against his father’s ways.

He first appeared in 1973’s Special Marvel Edition No. 15 and was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin after Marvel failed to acquire the comic book rights to the television series Kung Fu.

Shang-Chi was a hit character in the ’70s, and recently saw a revival as a member of The Avengers during  2012’s Marvel Now! Publishing event.

Interestingly, Cretton’s directorial debut was the 2013 indie film Short Term 12, which starred Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson as a woman working in a group home for teenagers.

He worked with Larson once again for 2017’s The Glass Castle, and he is currently directing the Captain Marvel star and Black Panther‘s Michael B. Jordan in Just Mercy.

Other filmmakers who were in the running for the highly anticipated Marvel flick included Dear White People‘s Justin TippingMaster of Young‘s Alan Yang, and Deborah Chow, whose credits include episodes of ReignJessica Jones and the upcoming Star Wars Disney+ series The Mandalorian.

Marvel head Kevin Feige is producing, with Marvel’s Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Jonathan Schwartz executive producing.

Shang-Chi appears to be another key player in the next phase of Marvel flicks following the events of Avengers: Endgame.

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