After more than a year without any Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, things are starting to heat up again in the Marvel film world. On Monday, the studio released the first teaser trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the upcoming martial arts adventure starring Simu Liu.
Liu marked his April 19 birthday by releasing the first official promotional image for the film, which casts him as the titular hero. That was followed by the debut of a two-minute preview of the movie, which offers a hint of what to expect when Shang-Chi arrives in theaters in September.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduces Shang-Chi to the MCU with an adventure that has him confront his dark past as the heir to the leader of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. His uneventful life is upended when his past returns to pull him back into Ten Rings, and he finds himself forced to fight for his right to determine his own destiny.
Liu is joined in the film by Tony Leung as Wenwu (aka The Mandarin, the leader of Ten Rings) and Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend, Katy. The cast also includes Meng’er Zhang as Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing, as well as Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist, and Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon.
Whoever said that you could only RECEIVE presents on your birthday? Today, I’m giving you your VERY FIRST LOOK at the teaser poster for @ShangChi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!!
Coming to theatres September 3rd (trailer drops in a few weeks).
WE’RE ALMOST THERE, PEOPLE!!!! pic.twitter.com/Kzgkg8djeQ
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) April 19, 2021
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be the 25th film in the MCU and Marvel’s first film with an Asian lead and predominantly Asian cast. It will also introduce a new version of The Mandarin after Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley portrayed imposter versions of the shadowy criminal in Iron Man 3. The film is expected to establish the Ten Rings organization — first introduced in the original Iron Man, which kicked off the MCU — as something far greater and more sinister than the terrorist group mentioned in earlier MCU films.
The film will is based on a screenplay penned by Cretton, David Callaham, and Andrew Lanham, and will be the second film of Phase Four of the MCU, following July’s long-awaited Black Widow prequel film.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to premiere in theaters September 3.
