Though Kevin Feige is currently in the midst of the Avengers: Endgame press tour, one attendee at a fan event in China apparently couldn’t help sneaking in a question about the future of the franchise, prompting the producer to touch upon the recent reports of a Shang-Chi movie being in the works.
When asked about the possibility of a Chinese Avenger entering the fray, the Marvel Studios head was reluctant to say too much, but he did suggest that this is indeed on the agenda.
“This is not an Endgame question, this is a question about the future,” Feige said. “I’m not supposed to answer questions about the future but in this case, I will because the answer is yes.”
Feige also acknowledged the planned Shang-Chi flick in a recent interview with IANS, when he was asked if he regarded the MCU’s first Asian-led superhero movie as a risk.
“I think every movie that we do is a risk,” Feige remarked. “We only want to do movies that people seem to think are risks. Doing the story of an Asian-American hero of Chinese heritage is something that is very intriguing to us. It will be really different and special.”
So far, details on the Shang-Chi film are in short supply, though a report last month from Deadline claimed that Short Term 12 helmsman Destin Daniel Cretton was being eyed to direct the project. From the sound of things, there’s a chance that the feature will be one of three MCU flicks that come out in 2021, the others being Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2. In the meantime, it’s thought that Marvel’s Phase 4 will begin next year with the release of the long-awaited Black Widow solo movie, followed by The Eternals.
In any case, Feige and his team will presumably have more to say about Shang-Chi and the rest of the Phase 4 slate later in the year, once Marvel’s Phase 3 has drawn to a close. Speaking of which, next on the schedule is Avengers: Endgame, which is expected to bring some huge changes to the MCU when it hits theaters on April 26th.