Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton shared the advice he received from Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.
When approaching the opportunity to direct Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton admittedly was hesitant. The director mentioned during the film’s virtual press conference that he had his own fears upon pitching his vision for the film to Kevin Feige and the other higher-ups at Marvel Studios.
Interestingly enough, Destin Daniel Cretton admitted that he told his manager that he shouldn’t allow him to direct a film for Marvel:
“The last thing that I admitted was, they asked me ‘have you always wanted to do a big Marvel movie,’ and I was like, ‘Should I tell them?…’ the truth was it was a few weeks before they announced they were looking for directors for this movie that I made a very real decision and called… my agent, and said, ‘Don’t ever let me do a Marvel movie.’”
The leap from his work in smaller-scale dramas to a Marvel Studios blockbuster was certainly a change of pace, but Destin Daniel Cretton had the opportunity to speak with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, whom helped calm down his fears in taking on Shang-Chi:
“But, when it came down to it, I did have a conversation with Ryan Coogler, and I was really… you know, I was scared of stepping into a big studio movie like this, and scared what it might do to me… will the pressure… will I cave? I had a lot of fears…
The thing that Ryan said to me, which really eased my mind, was, ‘The pressure is hard, it’ll be the hardest thing potentially that you have done up until this point, but none of that pressure or none of those complications come from the people that you’re working with or for…’”
Similar to Destin Daniel Cretton’s jump from films like Short Term 12 to Shang-Chi, Ryan Coogler previously worked on smaller-scale dramas compared to a massive MCU blockbuster. Ryan Coogler made his feature directorial debut with the acclaimed indie drama Fruitvale Station and jumped into a studio film with the Rocky spinoff film Creed before directing Black Panther.
Here is the synopsis for Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings:
“Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.”
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a script written by David Callaham, the Marvel film stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Ronny Chieng, and Dallas Liu. The upcoming movie will hit theaters on September 3, 2021.
Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings, Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Shang-Chi Press Conference
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