After a completely barren 2020 where no new content was released, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is making up for lost time this year, with six Disney Plus exclusives and four feature films all arriving between January 1st and December 31st. It may have taken the movies a while to get rolling, but coming hot on the heels of Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is just over five weeks away.
So far, the footage has painted the fantasy martial arts epic as unlike anything the MCU has ever seen before, even if some of the story beats regarding a hero who initially turns his back on destiny learns to embrace it while simultaneously overcoming a deep-rooted set of daddy issues are very familiar. From a visual standpoint, Shang-Chi looks incredible, so it’s no surprise the eye-popping aesthetic is the main focus of the latest TV spot.
It’s light on plot but heavy on action, which hopefully isn’t reflective of the film itself, but Simu Liu is poised to deliver the sort of star-making performance the MCU has become famous for, and the leading man will be hoping to mimic the success enjoyed by contemporaries Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland and more.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings generated a slight amount of controversy overseas, to the extent that it might not end up getting released in China in what would be a hammer blow to its box office potential, but audiences around the world are more than eager to devour the latest offering from the MCU as soon as it becomes available.
By the time Destin Daniel Cretton’s effort comes to multiplexes on September 3rd, don’t bet against it dislodging stablemate Black Widow to set a new pandemic-era opening weekend record.
