Trivia / Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

---

• Actor-Inspired Element:
  • Xu Xialing originally had a red streak in her hair, but Meng'er Zhang requested it to be removed after she discovered the appearance's association with the "rebellious Asian girl" stereotype. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and Marvel agreed, changing her hair from that point forward and removing the red via FX for the scenes already shot.
  • The scene of Ying Nan talking with Xialing, telling her it was time to "step out of the shadows", was not originally in the script and suggested by Michelle Yeoh, who pointed out it wouldn't make sense that Ying Nan wouldn't approach her own niece at some point, especially since it winds up being a crucial part of Xialing accepting her own power.
• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Like Shang-Chi, Simu Liu had previously lived in China when he was younger, only to leave the country at an early age in exchange for a different life in North America where he was ultimately happier. Though in Liu's case, he lives in Ontario, Canada rather than San Francisco.
  • While Florian Munteanu is German, both of his parents were Romanian and he speaks the language. His character Razor Fist is Romanian.
• Approval of God: Marvel writer Doug Moench, creator of Razor Fist, commended the design change for the character to have only one bladed arm as opposed to two in the comics, saying it was more pragmatic.
• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Benedict Wong was enthusiastic to appear in this movie as Wong due to the film's celebration of "Asian excellence". He also was a huge fan of Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and was nothing short of excited to star in a film with him (even if their characters never meet in the film).
  • Tony Leung himself was also enthusiastic to join the MCU due to being a big Marvel fan, with some of his favorite heroes including Iron Man^note Which is ironic (pun intended), considering Leung in this film played a Composite Character of the Mandarin - Iron Man's Arch-Enemy in the comics and Deadpool. He also wanted a chance to act in Hollywood after years of deliberately turning down roles that he felt were too stereotypical.
• Banned in China: Mainland China had not approved the movie for widespread release, and ultimately it never saw a theatrical release in the country^note For comparison, Avengers: Endgame was released in China two days earlier than in the US. Common theories include the rising anti-US sentiment in China, Shang-Chi's filial connection to and / or the Mandarin's influences from Fu Manchu, and Simu Liu's past criticism of the Chinese government^note Similar reasons are cited for the lack of release for Eternals due to Chloé Zhao's past comments on China.
• California Doubling: The film was primarily shot in Sydney, Australia.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer:
  • A Variety article alleged that Katy Chen was based off the Marvel Comics character Katy Bashir / Apex, causing several other several outlets and Wikis to follow suit, with some even going as far as listing Bashir as her last name. While Katy's last name is never spoken in the film, her mother's last name is Chen^note Chen is a common surname of Chinese origin, which Katy is, while Bashir is Arabic while David Callaham and Destin Daniel Cretton indicated that Katy was an original character created for the film with no comic book counterpart.
  • Ying Li and Ying Nan were originally given the surname Jiang when Kevin Fiege revealed the cast on Disney Investor Day in 2020. Even after the movie clarified the naming, several outlets, merchandise and even Li's comic book counterpart, who was added to the comics after the movie was released, still used the name Jiang.
  • Several outlets listed Nan (Michelle Yeoh) as Shang-Chi's mother instead of Li (Fala Chen).
• Creator Backlash: While she didn't express any personal misgivings about the film, Fala Chen noted in an interview for AsiaOne that starring in this film caused her to receive many more auditions for characters that only had her speak Chinese, which she didn't appreciate due to being fluent in English.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Simu Liu was 30 years old when he was cast as 24-year-old Shang-Chi.
  • Meng'er Zhang plays Shang-Chi's younger 20-year-old sister despite being two years older than Liu.
  • Trevor implies that he was a child when he saw Planet of the Apes in 1968. In contrast, Ben Kingsley would have been 25. To his credit though, he looks good for his age.
• Deleted Scene: See here.
• Dear Negative Reader: Simu Liu had the last laugh after several YouTubers predicted the movie would flop, subsequently posting a screencap of various video thumbnails predicting this with a caption that says nothing more than "lol" after the movie released to box office success.
• DVD Commentary: Destin Daniel Cretton recorded his first one for the Shang-Chi Blu-ray and digital copy, with help from David Callaham. It also marks the first MCU Phase 4 movie to include a commentary, since Black Widow (2021) (and the Phase 3 capper Spider-Man: Far From Home) didn't include one.
• Enforced Method Acting: Stephanie Hsu and Kunal Dudheker give genuinely confounded reactions to Wong showing up the second time Shang-Chi and Katy drink with Soo and John, since Benedict Wong improvised his actions during the scene.
• Fake American: Chinese Canadian Simu Liu plays Chinese American Shang-Chi.
• Fake Nationality: Florian Munteanu is ethnically Romanian like Razor Fist but he's from Germany.
• In Memoriam: A dedication to stunt coordinator Brad Allen, who died on August 7, 2021, appears in the end credits.
• Meaningful Release Date:
  • The first poster and trailer dropped on Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu's 32nd birthday, much to his surprise and delight.
  • As detailed below, previous release dates for the film were February 12, 2021, which was Lunar New Year's Day, and May 7, 2021, the first Friday of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
• Meme Acknowledgment: Simu Liu has posted his own Shang Chi stock image in celebration of the film's critical and financial success.
• No Export for You: Due to the decision to release the movie in theaters exclusively, many countries (including Australia) did not receive the movie remotely close to the release date due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
• No Stunt Double: Simu Liu did most of his own stunts due to him not wearing a mask. Any stunt he didn't do on set was accomplished with a CG double.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Director Destin Daniel Cretton's previous films were all quiet, relatively low budget dramas. Shang-Chi, meanwhile, is a big-budget superhero/martial arts epic.
  • Tony Leung Chiu-wai, most famous for his conflicted romantic heroes, gets to sink his teeth into a villainous role. In addition, this film marks the debut of Leung — a veteran of Chinese cinema from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China — in Hollywood.
• Posthumous Credit: Stunt coordinator Brad Allan died less than a month before the release of the film, which is consequently one of the last works he had contributed to.
• Production Posse: Shang-Chi is the fifth cinematic collaboration between Destin Daniel Cretton and composer Joel P. West, the third with writer Andrew Lanham, and the fourth with Brie Larson, who appears in a post-credits scene as Captain Marvel.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • Simu Liu was a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe early, and even tweeted out to Marvel Studios asking to discuss working on a Shang-Chi movie. Even though it was somewhat of a joke post, Liu ended up actually getting the role by sheer coincidence, and he has frequently expressed his excitement for becoming a leading member of the MCU since then.
  • Andy Le, who plays Death Dealer, is a founder of the online video making group Martial Club whose stated mission is to promote the worth of martial arts in the modern world. For their online videos the group often parodied the tropes of martial arts films, and one of their videos published on YouTube in 2019 was a parody of Avengers: Endgame, where the Avengers fighting Thanos in the style of a kung fu film. Two years later Le was part of the MCU.
• Release Date Change:
  • The film was previously set for release in February 12, 2021. After the COVID-19 shutdowns, production was shut down after one month, and the film's release shifted three times: first to May 7, 2021, then to July 9, 2021 (the date now occupied by Black Widow (2021)), and finally to September 3, 2021.
  • The film was originally set to be the third film release of Phase 4. However, the various reschedulings moved it to second position ahead of Eternals.
• Refitted for Sequel:
  • The Abomination was initially designed with his comic counterpart's "fish ears" for his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk. ^note Specifically for a scene where the Hulk would tear them off, but it was excised early in development due to the effect being too hard to create in CGI, as well as worries that this scene would be too violent for a PG-13 film For his reappearance in Shang-Chi, the Abomination has visibly mutated over the years to a more comic-accurate appearance, including his ears.
  • The Mandarin was originally intended to be the Greater-Scope Villain of the Iron Man trilogy. This idea was scrapped due to the filmmakers not being sure how to adapt the comic character's problematic elements, eventually resulting in the infamous decoy Mandarin that appeared in Iron Man 3. Shang-Chi finally introduces Wenwu as a Truer to the Text depiction of the Mandarin, albeit one that is also more modernized and culturally sensitive.
  • For most of Iron Man 3's development, Maya Hansen was intended to be the mastermind of AIM's terrorist plot and the film's "true" Mandarin. Late in the process, Executive Meddling argued that a female villain wouldn't sell any toys, so the character was abruptly killed at the halfway point, with her role as the Big Bad instead given to Aldrich Killian. In The Stinger for Legend of the Ten Rings, Xialing becomes the new leader of the Ten Rings, who seem to accept her despite her gender. The character's importance to the movie as a whole even earned her several toys.
• Release Date Change: The film was previously set for release in February 12, 2021. After the COVID-19 Pandemic began, the film's release shifted three times: first to May 7, 2021, then to July 9, 2021 (the date Black Widow (2021) finally premiered), and finally to September 3, 2021.
• Role Reprise:
  • Though he doesn't speak, Tim Roth provides the grunts and roars of Emil Blonsky/Abomination, 13 years after the character's previous appearance in 2008's The Incredible Hulk.
  • Trevor Slattery reappears after last being seen in Iron Man 3 and All Hail the King, once again being portrayed by Ben Kingsley.
• Romance on the Set: Meng'er Zheng met her husband, Yung Lee, an action designer on the film, during filming.
• Saved from Development Hell: Attempts to get the ball rolling on a Shang-Chi movie date back to The '80s, when Stan Lee reportedly met with Brandon Lee about possibly playing the character. In 2003, a Shang-Chi film was announced to be in development at DreamWorks SKG, with Yuen Woo-Ping directing and Ang Lee producing. The production soon fell by the wayside and the character's rights reverted to Marvel, who subsequently mentioned Shang-Chi as one of the projects being developed for the nascent MCU back in 2006. Despite this, the movie wouldn’t officially pick up steam until a writer was hired in late 2018, which was followed by director Destin Daniel Cretton signing on in 2019. The resultant movie would finally be released in 2021.
• Shrug of God: Destin Daniel Cretton waved off a direct question about why Bruce is apparently fully human again in the mid-credits scene, saying he'll leave it to others involved with the franchise to explain. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law explains it: He was in the process of healing his right arm, using a gamma suppression device to turn human again. Once it's off or malfunctioning, he's Smart Hulk again.
• So My Kids Can Watch: A variant. Destin Daniel Cretton admitted he had previously not been interested in directing a superhero film but was drawn to the project to "help create a world and character that Asian children could look up to and see themselves in".
• Spared by the Cut: Razor Fist was originally supposed to sacrifice himself to save Katy near the end, but his death scene was left out of the final cut.
• Spoiled by the Merchandise:
  • The dragon LEGO set for the film.
  • Katy in traditional Asian-inspired clothing with a bow and arrow
• Star-Making Role: Before this film, Simu Liu had mostly appeared as a model for internet stock photos, and as an extra in other TV shows (discounting Kim's Convenience). This movie gave Liu worldwide exposure that he never had before, much like Marvel Studios had done with other actors in the past.
• Throw It In!: For Wong's pre-credits appearance, Benedict Wong improvised pushing aside Soo's and John's chairs, then chugging down Soo's drink.
• Troubled Production: Primary filming commenced in early 2020 just before the COVID-19 Pandemic started forcing studios to shut down productions. Destin Daniel Cretton got tested after a suspected exposure and went into isolation (he thankfully turned out to be negative for the virus). Disney officially suspended production in mid-March and filming did not resume until August.
• Underage Casting: Despite Death Dealer being Shang-Chi's childhood mentor whom he later fights against as an adult, Andy Le was 28 years old and younger than Simu Liu.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Ludi Lin, Ross Butler, Steven Yeun, Alex Landi, Mike Moh and Lewis Tan were considered for the part of Shang-Chi before the casting of Simu Liu. Moh and Tan previously played Triton and Zhou Cheng in Inhumans and Iron Fist respectively.
  • Donnie Yen was initially offered the role of the Mandarin before Tony Leung Chiu-wai was cast.
  • Jessica Henwick revealed she was up for Xialing, but turned the role down to star in The Matrix Resurrections, and to leave the door open for Colleen Wing's return.
  • Justin Tipping, Alan Yang, Lulu Wang and Deborah Chow were in the running to direct the movie before Destin Daniel Cretton was hired.
  • The producers for the film briefly discussed the idea of Ant-Man appearing in the film due to both him and Shang-Chi living in San Francisco, but ultimately decided it would derail from the main story.
  • Xialing was originally going to a red streak hair extension, but this was dropped a month into filming after Meng'er Zhang asked Destin Daniel Cretton to change it. This was because Zhang read a Teen Vogue covering how frequently rebellious Asian women in popular media are given such an accessory.
  • It was considered to have both Shang-Chi and the Mandarin be introduced in the post-credits scene of The Avengers, but it ultimately didn't happen due to the Beijing development team not wanting the franchise to have a Chinese villain.
  • Ying Li and Ying Nan were originally going to be named Jiang Li and Jiang Nan.
  • The Ten Rings were initially designed to look and function closer to their comic book counterparts. This was changed because having multicolored rings with unique abilities was not only too similar to the previously-used Infinity Stones, but it made it difficult to tell the difference between Wenwu and Shang-Chi when they were the respective users of the rings.
  • Shang-Chi was originally going to have a younger brother instead of a sister who would eventually turn into a monster, but the character was dropped by Marvel executives for being "too crazy".
  • A deleted scene reveals Razor Fist was supposed to die when he has his soul drained by Dweller-in-Darkness after giving a bow to Katy. Another deleted scene shows Razor Fist at the family dinner scene where his origin story is explained and it's shown that he's Wenwu's adopted son rather than just The Dragon.
  • After the death of Ying Li, there was going to be a scene where Wenwu would've spoken with a captured Iron Gang leader, which would've had him bring up how a meeting with Raza and how he's making progress with destabilizing Afghanistan.
  • David Callaham, one of the film's co-writers, revealed on the DVD commentary that he wanted to Wenwu to have two giant praying mantises at his side at the film's climactic battle, but couldn't convince anyone else to sign on to the idea.
  • If this concept art is to be believed, there was at one point an idea for Proxima Midnight and Deadpool to be the two fighters who would square off in Xialing's fighting ring, rather than Wong and the Abomination.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Michelle Yeoh had previously played Aleta Ogord in a mid-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
  • Tsai Chin previously played Melinda May's mother in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She plays Katy's grandmother here.
  • In the Japanese dub, Xu Wenwu is voiced by Kazuhiro Yamaji, who previously dubbed Johann Schmidt/Red Skull.

---