Marvel's Shang-Chi Audition Tape Possibly Reveals Character Details
An audition tape for the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings posted online hints at some new character details. Announced this past summer at San Diego Comic-Con, Shang-Chi was confirmed to be a part of Marvel's Phase 4 lineup. It'll be the first MCU film to be led by an Asian hero, and will star Simu Liu as the titular character.
Despite the Infinity Saga reaching an epic conclusion with Avengers: Endgame, the announcements from this summer showed the MCU has no plans to slow down. Phase 4 is stacked with highly anticipated projects, like Black Widow and Thor: Love and Thunder. Shang-Chi is one of the few projects announced to center on a character audiences haven't already seen within the MCU, making much of this film a mystery to those who aren't familiar with the comics. Very little is known about the plot and the characters at this point, but a few key details may have just been unveiled.
Actor Te Kohe Tuhaka's audition tape has been posted to Vimeo. He seems to be auditioning for the part of "Steelclaw," but as that isn't a real Marvel character, it could be that he's really auditioning for Tiger-Claw, one of Shang-Chi's villains. It's a short scene, but a few things can be gleaned from the dialogue. The character seems to be confronting Shang-Chi, saying he's heard a lot about him and calling him "the wonder boy who ran away." It's clear that Shang-Chi is incredibly gifted and has escaped from something dangerous, and this villain has appeared to take him home. This is likely a reference to Shang-Chi's villainous father Fu Manchu, who, in the comics, raised him to be an assassin.
It's not clear if Fu Manchu will be a part of the film, as The Mandarin was announced as the main villain. Tony Leung Chiu-wai is set to play The Mandarin, which Marvel head Kevin Feige noted would be the real Mandarin as opposed to the false one played by Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3. The only other bit of casting known at this time is Awkwafina in an unnamed role. Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) will direct.
With so little information about the film, any piece of news that comes out is exciting, and there are some tantalizing details within this clip. Shang-Chi's backstory sounds quite interesting, especially since most MCU heroes don't start in such dark places. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was a Russian assassin before she was an Avenger, but the MCU hasn't yet given much development to her backstory aside from some brief insight in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Her solo film promises to do more, but it'll likely not show her full origin story, seeing as it takes place later in the MCU timeline. Audiences will get the opportunity to see Shang-Chi's full transition from runaway assassin to kung fu hero in The Legend of the Ten Rings, which is bound to be thrilling.
Source: Colin M J Moy/Vimeo