After a long silence on updates for the MCU's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, fans have gotten treated to some big reveals. Shortly after the first teaser poster for the movie was released, Marvel dropped the first epic trailer as well.
Celebrating his own birthday today, Simu Liu who stars as Shang-Chi got into the gift-giving mood by presenting fans with the first poster for the movie, showing off his titular hero as well as promising the first trailer in "a few weeks." But Liu was either having some fun with fans or Marvel decided to give him his own birthday surprise because the trailer ended up dropping shortly after the poster reveal.
Despite there being very little information about the movie up until now, the trailer gave a good hint at the story, its hero, and the huge scale of the movie. This first footage seems to confirm the theory that the villainous Mandarin (Tony Leung) is indeed Shang-Chi's father in the movie who attempts to recruit his son into the villainous Ten Rings organization. It also shows the stylish fight scenes promised in the movie as well as some massive battle sequences. By comparison, the teaser poster is not nearly as exciting but does feature Shang-Chi looking ready for a fight in a cool costume that has been teased in some of the leaked character designs.
Shang-Chi was originally set to be released in February of 2021 before it and most of the Phase 4 MCU movies were pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the numerous delays that followed, fans have been eagerly anticipating this movie which will feature Marvel's first Asian lead as well as a largely Asian cast, including Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh.
The surprise release of the trailer will no doubt increase the excitement for this movie and its rather obscure hero. It also teases a very compelling story between the hero and the villain. Much of the trailer focuses on the brutal and demanding upbringing Shang-Chi endured under his cruel father who looks to have pushed him as a warrior. Given the character's reputation as one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe, it would have been nice to see some more grounded martial arts fight scenes. Still, it is a fun trailer that teases another great MCU adventure. It will be especially exciting to see Simu Liu, an up-and-coming actor, become the latest MCU hero as he is already impressive in this trailer.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will hit theaters on September 3, 2021.
Source: Marvel|YouTube; Simu Liu|Twitter