When Marvel Studios released Black Panther last February as part of the MCU they score a jackpot at the box office. With African-American and African-descent cast members, director and production team, the film resonated with the African-American community and Africa as well, the way Wonder Woman from rival Warner Bros.-DC did for women in 2017.
With Phase 3 of the MCU about to end, the matter of what new Marvel characters to be given movies in Phase 4 has been brought up. One of them feels like kin to the recently-cancelled Marvel-Netflix series Iron Fist. The hero in question is Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, a 1970s creation inspired easily from real-life actor Bruce Lee.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is looking at the possibility of a future Shang-Chi film being the Asian equivalent of Black Panther, in casting, director and production. Fan discussion has begun on which Asian-descent actor might be approached by Marvel for the part. Possibilities include:
- Daniel Wu (New Police Story, Warcraft) – from Hong Kong
- Eddie Peng (The Great Wall) – from Taiwan
- Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior) – from China
- Zhang Jin (stunt double of Zhang Ziyi on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) – from China
Already Marvel Studios is in talks with Chinese-American Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984 co-writer) for the screenplay of Shang-Chi. They also hope to cut down on the stereotypes present with the Shang-Chi character and his background. No further details have been shared about the film, including whether it might really be part of the MCU Phase 4 or not.