Shang-Chi: Master Of Kung-Fu

RUMOR ALERT: This information comes from unconfirmed sources, so take it with a grain of salt.

With ‘Black Widow’ reportedly now filming in Norway, it appears that the next Marvel Studios production is set to ramp up.  Last month, Sydney’s Morning Herald reported that ‘Shang-Chi’ would film in the area, bringing with it 4,700 new jobs.  Now Charles Murphy, host of the Murphy’s Law Podcast, reports that Marvel Studios is beginning the casting process for a film to shoot in Australia that he believes is ‘Shang-Chi’, and that production will begin later this year.

 

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You can follow this link to listen to Murphy’s entire podcast:

According to Murphy, in the movie, Shang-Chi will be altered into an MI6 agent, but that is just speculation.

The website The GWW revealed some casting information for this project which is due to film in Australia.

“The first character we learned of is a “wise, old statesman,” who is “the leader of his people.” The studio is searching for an Asian actor between the ages of 40 & 60.

 

“The second character is “one of the leader’s most skilled warriors.” The studio is searching for a female Asian actress, in her 30s or 40s.”

Just weeks ago, during a Reddit AMA, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased that Asian crime boss The Mandarin— the REAL Mandarin– is still out there in the MCU and that he and his gang, the Ten Rings, would return.  The first description could easily describe this character.

 

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However, those at The GWW are also speculating that the film being shot in Australia could actually be ‘Black Panther 2’, which explains why only two characters are being cast, as the rest will be returning from the first movie.  If that is the case, the site is speculating that the first character being cast is actually Namor the Sub-Mariner, a character previously hinted at being introduced in ‘Doctor Strange 2’ (by director Scott Derrickson, no less), with the second character perhaps being Namora, Namorita, or Andromeda.

Why would Namor debut in ‘Black Panther 2’?  Well, they’re both kings, and Okoye teased an underwater disturbance in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which could be an Easter Egg foreshadowing the introduction of Namor and the MCU’s version of Atlantis.

Director Ryan Coogler is confirmed to be returning to helm ‘Black Panther 2’, but there has been little buzz on that film.  But it COULD be filming sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Destin Daniel Cretton has signed on to helm ‘Shang-Chi’ with a script from Dave Callaham.

Once again, this is all rumor and speculation, but which movie would you most like to see next from Marvel Studios, ‘Shang-Chi’ or ‘Black Panther 2’?