Destin Daniel Cretton to Direct Marvel Phase Four Movie Shang-Chi

Marvel has yet to officially announce the release dates of its Phase Four, the slate of movies that will follow the end of Phase Three, which closes out Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far from Home on July 5th. Obviously, the studio is already developing a number of sequel movies — Black Panther 2 is a given, as is Doctor Strange 2, and there’s bound to be another Captain Marvel and probably even a third Guardians — but one of the most intriguing new movies coming in Phase Four is Shang-Chi, based on the classic character of the same name who was modeled after Bruce Lee and first appeared way back in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973).

Like those other Phase Four movies, Shang-Chi is being developed with little fanfare at the moment to keep the focus on the end of Phase Three, but THR reports that a director has been found in indie director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12). Cretton has not directed a superhero film before, but he has worked with several “superheroes” already as the director of Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle starring Brie Larson, and he is currently working on Just Mercy with Larson and Michael B. Jordan. The script for Shang-Chi is being written by Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984).

Shang-Chi will be another first for Marvel as its first feature with an Asian leading actor, and could open up the MCU to audiences less enthralled by superheroes as the “Master of Kung Fu” has no super powers to speak of. Of course, it’s likely the character will still be firmly rooted in MCU continuity and there may even be connections to the Iron Man franchise if the terrorist group the Ten Rings and the real Mandarin wind up being the villains of the movie.

Image courtesy of Marvel Comics