With a highly successful theatrical run, its availability to stream on Disney+ and its release on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringshas also been confirmed to be continuing its story with a sequel, at some point in the future. Through its superhero origin story of a parking valet named Shaun (Simu Liu), who was hiding out in San Francisco with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) until his past catches up with him and he must embrace his power as Shang-Chi, directorDestin Daniel Crettonand Marvel Studios introduced audiences to a new aspect of the MCU and a new group of characters that clearly has endless possibilities.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Cretton talked about how proud he is of what the entire creative team was able to do withShang-Chi, how terrified he was on the first day of shooting, starting to work on ideas for the sequel and being at the point where everything is a possibility, how excited he is to dig deeper into this world, creating a TV series with Marvel that came from an idea he had while shooting the film, how he views success, and his love of Blu-ray/DVD extras.
Collider: When you first met with Marvel aboutShang-Chi, you weren’t initially thinking you’d direct it, but here we are. And even after you actually signed on as the director, the film took a journey before coming out, having been planned so far in advance, and then shooting it, and then getting delayed by COVID. What’s it like to have it out in the world, to see how people have reacted, to feel the love for it, and to even see people dress up like some of the characters?
DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON: It’s a huge relief. There were so many landmines with this movie, early on. Even within the Asian community, there were so many people who were like, “Why are you doing this movie?” We really saw the potential to create something, a character, that would be not only beneficial to the Asian American community, but something that I think I could be proud of and would be a character that I wish I had when I was a kid growing up. I do feel very proud of our team for being sensitive and being open and listening to the voices of people from different cultures on our production to create something that I think anybody can relate to and that people outside of our culture can learn some things, but also can see these characters as people that they can identify with. So, I feel very, very proud of the team for making this movie.
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What do you remember about your first day of shooting?
CRETTON: My first day of shooting, I was terrified. When I stepped onto the set, it was like I was stepping into a city of people, and there was all of this giant equipment and cranes and lights, and things that I just was not used to seeing so much of everything. And on top of that, I was directing Tony Leung, on day one, so I was really scared. But what I found, over the course of day one, was how great of a team that I really had, how supportive everyone was, and how incredible Tony Leung is, not only as a performer, but just as a person and now a friend. He’s such a gracious man. All of our performers on this movie were the same. I’m always really scared when I start a project, but as we start going and as the creative juices start flowing and the team really comes together, it really is one of the most fulfilling experiences that I have in life.
When you do tackle something this big and you do so successfully, does it make you feel any different as a filmmaker? Are you more confident now than you were before at all?
CRETTON: Confidence is definitely not a straight line. There actually was a weird moment when, in the middle of this production, when I was making hundreds of decisions a day and things were moving so quickly and I was dealing with all of these department heads, that I turned to my wife at night and said, “It’s really weird to say this, but I feel really comfortable right now, in the midst of all of this, and it’s really fun.” I’m not sure if I’d call that confidence, but it was a surprise to me that I was having such a good time in the midst of the chaos, even though there were tons of giant problems to solve. I credit all of that to being surrounded by a group of really good people.
How long have you known that Disney wanted a sequel for this? Was it something that was always talked about as a possibility or did it become definite, more recently?
CRETTON: It’s always a hopeful thing, I suppose, when you’re making the movie. While we were shooting, we were throwing around joke ideas of what a sequel could be. But with Marvel, it really is gauging to see how people react to the movie and also gauging what the experience of making the movie was. We had such a good time on it that it would’ve been a shame not to have a sequel, so I’m very excited to.
Where are you at in the writing process? Have you done any real concrete writing on it or is it just ideas that you’re throwing around?
CRETTON: I’ve done [zero]. It’s a fun place to be right now. Everything is a possibility. We’re just tossing very loose ideas around and we’ll start to hone in on something, hopefully.
Were there ideas that you started having when you did the first film that you knew you wanted to have in the sequel?
CRETTON: There are a lot of ideas that we had in the opener, and some of those ideas are planted as questions, by the end of our movie. There are things that we potentially want to explore in the future. Everything changes so much, so it’s hard to say how many of those ideas will actually make it to the finish line, but there are many of them there.
Did you ever have a point where, after the challenges you went through making the film, you thought maybe you should let someone else do the sequel, or did you always know that you wanted to return to keep telling the story?
CRETTON: I just really love this group of people, to be honest. I love these characters and we have simply introduced them to the world in our movie. So, to be able to start from there and explore them even more is very exciting to me.
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It was also announced that you have this multi-year deal with Marvel TV and that you’ll be doing other projects. Did you pitch them on any ideas, or did they come to you? How does that work?
CRETTON: It’s a little of both? Kevin [Feige] and the team there definitely have a clear idea of where they’re taking the MCU, but they’re also open to pitches and things that we’re passionate about. One of the shows that we’re creating was initially an idea that I was bouncing around with our producer while we were shootingShang-Chiand it just happened to fit in with the trajectory of where they’re going with the franchise. So, it’s a little back and forth.
When you work with a company like Marvel, that is planning four or five years ahead, is it weird to be thinking about stuff that might not happen until that far down the road?
CRETTON: It’s very weird. We’re talking about release dates and things, and I’m just like, “Am I gonna be alive, at that point?” It’s very strange.
What is it like to get to be in on the secrets, or at least some of them? Does it feel like you’re a part of this special club with the cool kids, when it comes to the MCU?
CRETTON: The thing that is very cool is that, when you’re on the inside, and I hope this doesn’t shatter anybody’s fantasy, but you realize how normal everybody is. It doesn’t feel like you’re with the cool kids. It feels like you’re just with a bunch of nerds like yourself. It’s just a bunch of passionate people trying to tell stories and solve problems. It’s very fun, but it doesn’t feel exclusive, on the inside. It just feels creative, like anything else.
When you wrapped filming onShang-Chi, at that moment, what were your hopes for the film? We’ve seen what’s happened with it and you know there will be a sequel now, but you couldn’t have fully known that at the time. So, what were you think success for the film would look like?
CRETTON: I have a very low tolerance for anxiety and hype. And so, when a movie is coming out, it’s probably the worst time for me. I’ve had to really redefine what my version of success is. I define my success by the time that we finish the movie completely. When all of the creative is done, if I feel like I have been fulfilled by that process, personally, and if I feel like our team has worked together really well and done everything we possibly could to make the best version of this story possible, then I feel like we’ve succeeded. I feel like we really did do that on this movie, and everything else has been a very pleasant surprise.
When you put out a Blu-ray and you include fun things, like a gag reel and deleted scenes, and obviously fans love that kind of stuff, is there anything that you personally most enjoy? Is there a moment on the gag reel or one of the scenes that you’re most excited about for fans of the movie?
CRETTON: I love extra features. When DVDs started having extra features, back when DVDs were first coming out, I love being able to see a bit of the behind the scenes process, to get a glimpse of the actors when they’re not in performance, and to see some of that rapport between characters. I watched the deleted scenes and the gag reel and it just warms my heart because you get to see Awkwafina when she’s not playing the role. You get to see her and Simu [Liu] laughing together, which is really what we experienced, every day. You get to see Michelle Yeoh being super silly and weird, and most people do not know that is a big part of her personality. And the deleted scenes are cool because they show you a glimpse into the process of the evolution of the story. It’ll give you a glimpse into the things that we tried, but then went a different direction.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsis available on all major digital platforms and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD
