The Master of Kung Fu - Shang Chi Appreciation 2019

[MichaelC]

I don't understand why people are guessing that the "wise, old, leader" is The Mandarin. The Mandarin has more in common with Joe Pesci's character in "Goodfellas" than he does with the venerable and wise types.


JOPSCI.jpg

[Tien Long]

Apparently this is a scoop on some Shang Chi casting

https://screenrant.com/shang-chi-fil...acter-details/

That woman warrior character interests me. I'm guessing it could be either Shang's mother or perhaps one of his masters? I definitely hope it's the latter. I've said it for years now, but I've always thought that one of Shang's masters had to have been a woman. His compassion and gentleness are (though not specific to, but closely associated with) a woman. I firmly belief that this master imparted these philosophies as well as a tendency to rebel against his father.

Also, wow, filming this fall? I'm still somewhat shock that this movie is being greenlit, now it's really going to be filmed. Holy crap!

I don't understand why people are guessing that the "wise, old, leader" is The Mandarin. The Mandarin has more in common with Joe Pesci's character in "Goodfellas" than he does with the venerable and wise types.


JOPSCI.jpg

Could be a cover. "Wise, old leader" is how Zheng Zu always depicted himself. So this could still be Zheng Zu/Mandarin (again, perhaps Feige and co. will be combining aspects of Zheng Zu and the Mandarin together? Still wise, surreptious, and wily yet isn't averse to going full on Joe Pesci "Goodfellas" once in a while?)

[marshal88]

smell my feet,yo

[H-E-D]

I don't understand why people are guessing that the "wise, old, leader" is The Mandarin. The Mandarin has more in common with Joe Pesci's character in "Goodfellas" than he does with the venerable and wise types.


JOPSCI.jpg

There was a "leak" posted on 4chan a few weeks ago that claimed that they were going to be combining Zheng Zu with the Mandarin, as a way to follow up on the "Real Mandarin" twist from All Hail the King.

Most of the post was just was just rumors from other places compiled, so I dunno if I trust it. Could easily have been somebody surrounded their theories with more substantial material

[Agent Z]

I wonder if the female warrior character will be Li Hua aka Tiger's Beautiful Daughter.

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Li_Hua_(Earth-616)

For those not familiar, she's one of the Immortal Weapons and is to her city what Iron Fist was to K'un L'un. Yes she's an Iron Fist character but it wouldn't be the first time the MCU used characters from different franchises for the films.

[H-E-D]

I wonder if the female warrior character will be Li Hua aka Tiger's Beautiful Daughter.

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Li_Hua_(Earth-616)

For those not familiar, she's one of the Immortal Weapons and is to her city what Iron Fist was to K'un L'un. Yes she's an Iron Fist character but it wouldn't be the first time the MCU used characters from different franchises for the films.

I'd assume it'd be someone like Zheng Bao Yu. Though I admit I'm not very familiar with Shang-Chi's historical supporting cast.

Li Hua would be cool, though I don't know if I'd want her to be a villain. I always thought she had a cool design.

[Agent Z]

I'd assume it'd be someone like Zheng Bao Yu. Though I admit I'm not very familiar with Shang-Chi's historical supporting cast.

Li Hua would be cool, though I don't know if I'd want her to be a villain. I always thought she had a cool design.

Like MichaelC said, we don't know if the "wise old statesman" character is the villain. If the female warrior is Li Hua, she might not be a villain either.

[H-E-D]

Like MichaelC said, we don't know if the "wise old statesman" character is the villain. If the female warrior is Li Hua, she might not be a villain either.

Fair point!

[chamber-music]

I'd assume it'd be someone like Zheng Bao Yu.

I'm guessing it's Shang's sister as well.

[Blind Wedjat]

Film has added Sue Chan (Colossal) as production designer.

https://hnentertainment.co/marvels-s...than-expected/

[Tien Long]

Film has added Sue Chan (Colossal) as production designer.

https://hnentertainment.co/marvels-s...than-expected/

Thanks for the update.

At the same time, I am a little skeptical of how soon the Shang-Chi film will be in production. We've heard of writers, directors, and production designers doing something, but right now, it doesn't feel like it's "fast tracked" as some articles lead say. For me, as soon as there's a lead actor, then I think we're in business.

Some other thoughts:

Anybody catch Shang do his one-inch punch in Agents of Atlas #3? Seriously, I OMG'd out loud when I saw it!


- Something I posed in the Agents of Atlas thread:

After watching a little bit of "Wolf Warrior 2" today, I would really like to see an Agents of Atlas storyline that involved both China and Wakanda. I can envision a story where, just like in the real world, government sponsored Chinese companies are getting involved in African affairs. A Chinese company may be involved with a country like Niganda, which borders Wakanda. Eventually, the company is starting to edge into Wakanda, which doesn't sit too well with Black Panther. Pretty soon, the Ascendant may be called in, and perhaps the Agents of Atlas have to contend with both sides. Basically, it would just be a set up for a Shang-Chi/Black Panther fight .

In any case, just a thought.

[Tien Long]

We've been talking about Shang-Chi, but any other thoughts on who could play other characters? For instance, I'm very interested in who could play Leiko Wu. I'm sorry to say, the only Chinese-British actresses I know of are Gemma Chan and Jessica Henwick, both of whom have already played characters in the Marvel Universe. Are there any other suggestions?

Indeed, Leiko would make an excellent addition to the movie. She was a badass female Asian spy before the concept was in vogue. Her complex relationship with Shang showed in American comics that yeah, Asians can be affectionate towards one another. Hell, with the way these Marvel productions are, she might become the breakout star of the Shang-Chi movie!

Fingers crossed that we'll get to see her!

[H-E-D]

I won't be shocked if they cast a mainland Chinese actress for Leiko if she shows up.

If they go that route, I'd vote for Bai Baihe. I mean, I'll be honest, I'm pretty sure I've only watched two Chinese movies in my life, so I don't really have anything approaching the proper knowledge base for this task. All I know is that she was a lead in Monster Hunt. It was a truly terrible movie, but she actually managed to have magnetic screen presence despite that.

But never in my life have I ever predicted an movie casting correctly, so...

[Flashback]

]- Something I posed in the Agents of Atlas thread:

After watching a little bit of "Wolf Warrior 2" today, I would really like to see an Agents of Atlas storyline that involved both China and Wakanda. I can envision a story where, just like in the real world, government sponsored Chinese companies are getting involved in African affairs. A Chinese company may be involved with a country like Niganda, which borders Wakanda. Eventually, the company is starting to edge into Wakanda, which doesn't sit too well with Black Panther. Pretty soon, the Ascendant may be called in, and perhaps the Agents of Atlas have to contend with both sides. Basically, it would just be a set up for a Shang-Chi/Black Panther fight .

In any case, just a thought.

I would love to see that but doesn't Marvel and China have business together. I can't see China liking the similarity or Marvel risking their deal/friendship over this.

[Tien Long]

I would love to see that but doesn't Marvel and China have business together. I can't see China liking the similarity or Marvel risking their deal/friendship over this.

That's a fair point. For me, I think a potential story like this should be run in a comic series first. I'm guessing something like that would fly a bit more under the radar than a full on movie. Secondly, the storyline would have to be nuanced. Yes, a Chinese company may come in and be shown as taking jobs away from the locals or placing a country in debt. At the same time, it could be shown as building good infrastructure, like roads or providing public services like hospitals and schools. Maybe start the story from personal perspectives. For example, a poor Chinese worker from the rural countryside of Shaanxi finally lands a well-paying job with this company so he can provide for the family back home. Conversely, there might be a Nigandan citizen who is frustrated because Wakanda does well for itself and doesn't share that wealth with Niganda. Thus, he jumps at the chance to earn some money to support his family, only to be prevented from doing so. Of course, you add a touch of the Marvel by having them interact with Shang-Chi or Black Panther.

So, now we have a complex story where there aren't really good guys and bad guys, just people caught up in difficult circumstances. And somehow Shang-Chi, T'Challa, and others have to figure out the solution.