Marvel Studios shared the first teaser trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Monday morning. One of several movies and shows set to focus on new characters in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shang-Chi will introduce us to the titular Master of Kung Fu, “who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.”
That’s a quote from Marvel’s synopsis of the film, but the trailer doesn’t reveal too much about the plot. As expected, there will be plenty of action, with much more hand-to-hand combat than we’re used to seeing from a Marvel hero, as Shang-Chi (at least in the comic books) was raised by his father to become a deadly assassin. He eventually defects and fights back against his father’s criminal enterprise, which we get a glimpse of in this trailer.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience) as the title character, and the actor was given the opportunity to share a character poster from the movie this morning on Twitter to celebrate his birthday. In a tweet, he noted that the trailer would arrive in a few weeks, but Marvel apparently had another birthday surprise in store for the actor, releasing the first footage from the movie on his birthday as well:
Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12, Just Mercy) was brought on to direct Shang-Chi, which stars Liu with Michelle Yeoh, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Ronny Chieng, and Awkwafina fresh off her major role in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Florian Munteanu (Creed 2) is also along for the ride as supervillain Razor Fist.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to hit theaters on September 3rd, 2021.
