“When you have the heart of the dragon, you can do amazing things” – Ying Li 

One of the inspiring quotes from Marvel Studios newest superhero movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been aiming for more representation in their movies and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, being the first asian led superhero film in their universe, has added to that. With the movie being a step for the MCU with more representation and being the first to be seen only in theaters and not having the option for premier access on DisneyPlus, Disney Ceo, Bob Chapek, called the movie an “interesting experiment” which Shang-Chi star, Simu Liu, responded to with a tweet. After that comment was released, some fans were upset because of the importance Shang-Chi will play in the film industry and the MCU’s storyline itself. 

Marvel Studios has been doing very well with it’s superhero movies for a while now and people wanted more from them, especially from their audience that felt like they needed to see more representation from the MCU. After Black Panther’s success, Marcel Studios have been ai,ing to add more representation into their films. Releasing Shang-Chi adds to that because it is the first asian led superhero film in the MCU. “Especially in western media, asian representation is very rare, so having an asian led movie in Hollywood can help a lot of people like me feel represented in a powerful way,” junior Anh Ho, an asian Marvel fan who is excited and happy about more representation being brought into the movies, said. 

With COVID-19 and the issues of the disease spreading, most movies had to find other ways to be released other than being in movie theaters so the companies could still make money from the movies and continue to be safe. Marvel Studios had a few movies planned during the time of the lockdown and had to quickly change their plans of release for these movies in order to still have them come out in a safe way. As the lockdown has ended and more of the world is starting to open up again, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been the first to be released only in theaters since Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek, made a comment about this process with Shang-Chi, calling it an “interesting experiment” which fans and stars if the movie responded to. 

Shang-Chi star, Simu Liu, responded to the comment with a tweet saying, “We are not an experiment. We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise. I’m fired the f— up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US.” After his tweet was released, fans came to his aid and agreed that Chapek’s comment was not right and incorrect to say. Marvel Studio’s chief, Kevin Feige, came to defend both reactions to the new movie’s release while explaining that it was a “misunderstanding” by both Disney’s CEO and Shang-Chi star and that everyone involved in the movie is excited for the release. 

Unless you keep up with all of Marvel Studios’ movies and plans, you probably won’t understand why fans are trying to hype this movie up so much. It might be important in what it brings to the film industry but it’s story is also something that has been important in the MCU for a very long time. The movie not only continues to kick off the next phase in Marvel but also brings back an important villain that was mentioned in Iron Man 3. The Mandarin, was a villain in Iron Man 3 that actually turned out to be someone posing as the Mandarin and not actually him. After that was revealed, it wasn’t even resolved in another movie until now with Shang-Chi. Fans finally get to see the real Mandarin and get a whole new story that leads into the next phase.  

In the MCU, as the movies get released, they get categorized into phases. So far there have been three phases which ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home and phase four has started with WandaVision, one of Marvel’s newly released shows. Phases are just a way to group a certain amount of Marvel films into a certain story arc that will continue to connect in the overall universe. The fourth phase started with the shows and the movie Black Widow, but the first movie to introduce a new character and really finish out the story of the shows was Shang-Chi. The movie is going to be able to continue the story and bring more to the MCU than just being another superhero movie.