Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies, Phase 4 | Tagged: marvel, movies, shang chi, shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings

Shang-Chi's Tony Leung Didn't Approach His Character Like a Villain

As more and more people come out of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, there is one thing everyone seems to be agreeing on; the absolutely amazing Tony Leung not only steals every scene that he's in, but he might walk away with the entire movie. His character goes through a very interesting arc that you wouldn't expect for a villain, and part of the reason is how Leung approached the character. He recently spoke to Elle Singapore (via SlashFilm) about the steps he took to creating the character and how he never approached Wenwe as a villain.

"When [Marvel] offered me the role, what they wanted was for me to create a brand new Mandarin, so I got to develop my character along with the filming. I've never approached Wenwu from a villain's standpoint. Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He's a man with a history, who craves to be loved. He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he'd turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot."

Leung went on to say that one of the reasons he was willing to come onto the role of Wenwu in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings was because of director Destin Daniel Cretton and how he described the role to Leung.

"When director Destin Daniel Cretton first described the role to me, he said there are many layers to the antagonist role, and hoped that I could come on board. I accepted it because of the director. It just felt right. Plus, this is something I've never done before, to play an Asian supervillain. A chance to do something for Asia. I thought, why not?"

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is being released in theaters only, and it's going to be really interesting to see how the box office turns out on this one. The risk of COVID-19 is a very real thing and could keep people away. However, Marvel fans tend to be a little crazy with spoilers, and waiting 45-days for it to come to VOD isn't really an option. You can't keep spoilers off of social media for the opening weekend, let alone six weeks. So maybe people will be willing to go out and see the movie once on opening weekend or so, but save repeat viewings for after it comes to streaming, meaning the movie could have a strong start and sharp dropoff. We'll have to see how things pan out next month.

Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. The film also stars Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi's friend Katy and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng'er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, which opens in theaters on September 3, 2021.

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