Over the past little while, Marvel Studios has made it pretty clear that they are trying their best to improve the level of diversity in the MCU, but due to the company’s notorious secrecy surrounding future projects, we’ve so far seen few signs of how they intend to do this. That being said, we do know that they’re fast-tracking Shang-Chi, which is said to be the studio’s first movie tentpole franchise with an Asian hero at the front of it.
Chinese-American writer Dave Callahan has been tapped to the pen the script, with Marvel also allegedly looking at Destin Daniel Cretton to direct. Shang-Chi is set to be one of several superhero outings that are on the way from Callahan, whose upcoming releases also include Wonder Woman 1984 and the newly announced Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2. And as for Cretton, he’s currently overseeing Just Mercy (which he also wrote) with Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson, and also found himself with a lot of positive attention thanks to the excellent Short Term 12.
But the question still remains: who will star as the titular hero? To date, we haven’t heard much on that front, but a source close to We Got This Covered has told us that Marvel has their eye on former Walking Dead star Steven Yeun, who played Glenn on the hit AMC series from 2010-2016 before meeting a grisly end that utterly devastated the fanbase.
But Yeun has since moved on and is now finding himself with more and more big screen roles, which makes it not too surprising to hear that Marvel wants to snag him before his profile rises too high. After all, the studio has a habit of grabbing actors/actresses on the rise and turning them into mega stars.
Alongside Yeun, we’re also hearing that Mike Moh’s another individual that Marvel has their eye on, and though not as recognizable a name as Steven, he actually had a role in the short-lived Inhumans TV series and will soon be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Whoever ends up getting the role, be it Yeun, Moh or someone else entirely, we’re hearing that the Shang-Chi film will provide a modern update on the hero, with Kevin Feige and co. looking to repeat the cultural impact of Black Panther. And while details beyond that remain scarce at this time, we’re definitely excited to see what a martial arts MCU movie might look like.