Iron Fist may not get to show up in the big-screen portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it seems like another martial artist from the pages of Marvel Comics – Shang-Chi - definitely will.
Multiple major Hollywood trades are reporting that a Shang-Chi movie is in the works at Marvel Studios. According to Deadline, the studio is fast-tracking the project, which obviously indicates that they are pretty determined about doing it. That actually makes sense, and not only because the superhero is one of those characters that the studio had chosen in their film deal with Paramount Pictures back in 2006.
Marvel has already hoisted the flag of diversity, releasing their first standalone movie for a black superhero - Black Panther - earlier this year. They are set to release their first standalone movie for a female superhero - Captain Marvel - on next March 8. With Black Panther doing wonders for the studio at the box office, they are feeling confident about attaining similar success with Shang-Chi, which will be their first standalone movie for a Asian superhero.
No director is attached to the project, but a screenwriter is already on board. Marvel has put Dave Callaham in charge of the script. Callaham is a Chinese-American scribe recognized for his work on The Expendables and Godzilla. He is no stranger to the superhero movie genre as he has penned the script of Wonder Woman 1984.
According to Deadline, Marvel has already launched a hunt for the director of the Shang-Chi movie. And unsurprisingly, they are looking for a filmmaker of Asian descent for the job. That's a formula that worked for Warner Bros. with Wonder Woman and Marvel with Black Panther.
