Kevin Feige says Marvel’s Shang-Chi movie features a 98% Asian cast

When SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS explodes onto screens come February 12, 2021, Marvel president and producer Kevin Feige says that Marvel's first Asian-led film will feature a cast that is "98%" Asian. Starring as the film's titular character is Simu Liu (TAKEN, KIM'S CONVENIENCE), who so far will be joined by Awkwafina (THE FAREWELL) and Tony Chiu-Leung (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) for the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed martial arts adventure. According to Feige, who was recently a guest at the New York Film Academy, where he spoke at length about Marvel's upcoming slate of Phase 4 films, Shang-Chi will be “so much more than a Kung Fu movie.”

During the inquisitive Q&A with students, Feige addressed the process that goes into selecting which characters will appear in which films stating:

“Sometimes you’re choosing the title hero, you’re choosing which main character or main team you want to bring to the screen,” he said. “And often times, as you’re making and developing the movie, [asking], ‘Who will come into it? Who will fit into it?’” Ultimately, Feige explained, the choice of character “can vary.”

While on the topic of characters that have yet to be introduced to the MCU, Feige revealed that Marvel has been wanting to bring Shang-Chi to the big screen for quite some time.

Like Shang-Chi, we’ve wanted to make that movie for a long time. We want to make a movie with a 98% Asian cast,” Feige said. “And then you talk about, as you develop the movie, what other heroes can you bring into it, if you need them? And in the case of Black Panther [in Captain America: Civil War], it was the greatest thing that ever happened.

In recent times, Disney has been making a concentrated effort to feature actors that are more representative of their characters than ever before. This trend was very much on display with the release Ryan Coogler's BLACK PANTHER, as well as Guy Ritchie's ALADDIN, which featured stars like Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott in the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine, respectively. In March of 2020, Disney has plans to unveil MULAN in theaters, a big screen project that features Asian actors the likes of Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Li Gong, Jason Scott Lee, and Yoson An, in addition to several others. While the battle for proper representation in film rages on, it's nice to know that Disney and Marvel are continuing to make strides in a more positive direction.

When asked about introducing more diverse characters to the MCU lineup, Feige explained that including icons of different backgrounds was "always the plan," 

Every time we do a movie, we hope it’s going to succeed so that we can make another movie. That’s always the idea,” Feige said. “And with those two films in particular, Black Panther and Captain Marvel, we wanted to keep showcasing heroes from the comics that represent the world that goes to see our movies. So our intention was always to continue to do that. What’s exciting is that both those movies were such big hits that it squashed any sort of question otherwise, and I hope — and I think — it inspired other companies around the world to do the same thing and tell those different types of stories.

Marvel's Phase 4 stands to open plenty of doors for characters from all across the spectrum, and I don't know about you, but my body is ready. Perhaps one of the greatest aspects of playing in Marvel's world is that you can bring some of literature's most outlandish characters to the big screen, and with style. Here's hoping that Marvel continues to explore their pantheon of otherworldly heroes and villains as time marches on.