Destin Daniel Cretton discusses the evolution of the Simu Liu-starring superhero movie, which he says stayed “pretty consistent” with his initial pitch.
New Marvel adventure Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is packed full of exciting action scenes, from a much-trailed encounter on a San Francisco bus and a battle on bamboo scaffolding to the final clash between the titular hero (Simu Liu) and his father (Tony Leung) – but that could have just been the start.
You see, director Destin Daniel Cretton has now confirmed that other action scenes were planned out but didn’t make it into the finished movie, with the decision made to hold a few ideas back.
“Yes, there were some [cut] action sequences,” he told RadioTimes.com.
“I don’t even want to say [what], because I really am saving them for another movie.”
In other words, fans who want to imagine Simu Liu thrown into these new battles will just have to wait for a Shang-Chi sequel (or possibly a separate action movie from the director).
Still, Cretton did drop some hints, suggesting that that these dropped scenes would have thrown Shang-Chi and his allies into battle in some very unusual locations.
“To me, what I love almost as much as the choreo of a great action sequence, is the location that you choose to have that action sequence take place in,” he explained.
“You know, all of my favourite action sequences, you could say… you know, at the top of a bamboo forest, or in a hallway that is constantly spinning – you can pinpoint the location that makes that choreo sing.
“That’s what we tried to do in this movie – pick locations that challenged our choreographers in a great way, and gave them enough ingredients to make something really special.”
Of course, dropped action scenes and scrapped ideas are all part of the moviemaking creative process, with Shang-Chi evolving considerably over its years in development. But Cretton also noted that despite these changes the heart of the film remained remarkably consistent during its creation, much to his initial surprise.
“My initial pitch was actually something that was really close to me, and very intimate, and personal. And I honestly did not think that Marvel would go for it,” Cretton laughed. “I was pitching a family-drama wrapped up in a martial arts movie!
!["Shang-Chi"]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/08/Wenwu-Shang-Chi-b7951cb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Wenwu")
“What was really wonderful was that throughout this process, the producers at Marvel, Jonathan [Schwartz] and Kevin [Feige], were constantly reminding me of the pitch, and the heart of the story that they wanted to tell, and the intimacy, and the characters, and the relationships between them, and that the human struggles that they’re going through were the core of this movie that they wanted to hold onto.
“So I think the heart of the movie did stay pretty consistent since the pitch,” he added. “But did it evolve? Completely! Over and over and over until the finished product happened, which was a really fun process.”
And hey – if there is a sequel, at least Cretton already has a few action scenes mapped out and ready to go. Every little helps.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in UK cinemas from Friday 3rd August.
Want more? Revisit the Marvel movies in order, check out our dedicated Movies page or our full TV Guide.