Destin Daniel Cretton has admitted in the past that he actively told his agent he wasn’t looking for work in the blockbuster realm, but very few people say no to Marvel Studios when they come calling. Having connected with the title hero on a personal level, Cretton ended up landing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings after his pitch was enthusiastically received by Kevin Feige and his team.
The martial arts fantasy blockbuster has been drawing strong reviews across the board, and while the third act eventually devolves into the CGI f*ckery that continues to plague the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cretton’s direction of the hand-to-hand action sequences is nothing short of impeccable.
Having initially had no interest in joining the franchise at all, Cretton has fairly changed his tune after revealing in a new interview that he’d love to be invited back for the inevitable Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel.
“Yeah, yeah, I would. When I said that to my agent, it was real. I was basically just telling my agent, ‘I don’t want to do those types of movies’. I know I was getting to the place in my career where it’s easy for agents to try just and push me into that direction, but I was not feeling like I wanted to. A part of it was definitely fear. Fear of losing creative control. Fear of just losing my mind, being on a movie project that big.
But I found the experience to be much more exciting, much more fun than I expected. And I also found that the process of working on a big movie was more conducive to who I am than I expected. You know, I grew up on an island, so I move at kind of a slower pace than most people. But I also love collaboration. I love collaborating with people who are really good at their jobs. And this movie was extremely collaborative, and I had a blast. So I’d definitely do it again.”
Looking at both the mid-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the roster of upcoming Phase Four projects, the MCU could be a very different place by the time a second installment eventually arrives. That’s more exciting than anything, though, with the shackles well and truly off for Cretton and star Simu Liu now that the origin story is out of the way.
