Mugendaily – Marvel’s Kevin Feige calls Disney’s ‘Shang-Chi’ flare-up on social media a ‘Misunderstanding’. As Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige spent part of the premiere for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” on Monday cleaning up a “misunderstanding” involving Disney CEO Bob Chapek and the movie’s star, Simu Liu.
Which will premiere exclusively in theaters on Sept. 3
During an earnings call last week, Chapek referred to the release plan for the film — which will premiere exclusively in theaters on Sept. 3 — as an “interesting experiment,” addressing the continuing clouds over movie-going from the pandemic and Disney’s simultaneous premium releases of the movies “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise” and “Cruella” on its streaming service, Disney+.
The wording prompted Liu to take issue with the comment on social media, clearly feeling that Chapek’s remarks had disrespected the movie.
As the Hollywood Reporter reported, Feige stated at the premiere that there was “no intention” on Chapek’s part to downplay or diminish the film, which represents Marvel’s first featuring an Asian superhero.
Dallas Liu, Jayden Zhang, Benedict Wong, Marvel Studios Chief Kevin Feige, Fala Chen, Director Destin Daniel Cretton, Awkwafina, Simu Liu, Marvel Studios Co-President Louis D’Esposito, VP of Production Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso, Meng’er Zhang, Executive Producer Marvel Studios Jonathan Schwartz, Ben Kingsley, Ronny Chieng, Jodi Long, and Andy Le at the “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” premiere on Monday.
“The proof is in the movie, and we swing for the fences as we always do,” Feige said. “With the amount of creative energy we put in and the budget, there’s no expense spared to bring this origin story to the screen.”
The “Shang-Chi” dust-up comes on the heels of another problem that essentially landed in Marvel’s lap, with “Black Widow” star Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over the film’s streaming release, contending that it denied her from receiving her fair share of the box-office profits.
Liu, who is Canadian, was born in China and is best known for his work as Jung Kim on the award-winning hit show Kim’s Convenience, the sitcom about a Korean-American family who own a convenience store in a Toronto neighbourhood.
The latest incident comes barely a month after Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for reportedly renegading on the film’s terms of release. Disney was criticised by many Hollywood bodies for its response to Johansson’s lawsuit.
At Monday’s Shang-Chi event, Feige likened the premiere to that of the record-breaking Black Panther, the first Marvel film featuring a predominantly black cast.
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ cast: where you’ve seen the film’s stars before
“When you have the opportunity to showcase a hero that looks like a huge segment of the globe that feels like they haven’t been showcased, the magic can happen if you deliver,” he said, according to Hollywood Reporter. “I think Destin [Daniel Cretton, director] and Simu have delivered for this movies online.”
Feige also addressed the Johansson lawsuit at the premiere, noting he is “all for amicable solutions”.
The situation was further exacerbated when the studio publicly fired back at Johansson in a statement, accusing her of exhibiting “callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Shang-Chi” is based on the martial-arts hero that Marvel Comics introduced in the 1970s, and in addition to Liu co-stars Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung.
Disney is previewing the movie for select fans in IMAX theaters on Aug. 18, with screenings in 25 cities in the US and Canada.