The latest and 25th entry into the Marvel cinematic universe Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hit theatres last week and has been an overwhelming success both by its record-breaking box office numbers and by the fan reception for the film.
There were many things about the film that made it unique amongst its Marvel contemporaries and one of which was the choice to kill off one of the major characters in the film near the conclusion.
According to director Daniel Cretton, there was a version of the movie where its antagonist and father of Shang-Chi, Wenwu wasn’t killed off by the Dweller of Darkness, though that outcome “felt like cheating”.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Cretton shared why that version of the story didn’t make the final cut of the film.
“Some things just work and some things don’t. We’re constantly searching for the version of the story that feels most authentic to the characters. I mean, even though these characters are operating on a very operatic level, there are still things that you try that just feel like cheats. And that was one of them.”
Wenwu’s arc during the film is up to debate given that he is displayed as a major threat to the cast in Shang-Chi while we also learn of the sympathetic motives for his action. Some see him as the bad guy, while others believe that the Dweller of Darkness is the true antagonist in the film.
While it would have been quite interesting to see how Wenwu could recover his relationship with his family after learning that he was being manipulated by the dweller, given this ending his the cutting room floor, we’ll never know.
