The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always prided itself on telling superhero stories that boast a wide range of genre influences, even if they all sing from the same songbook at the end of the day. The franchise has an in-house formula that the majority of projects stick to in one way or another, but the creative teams are allowed to put their own spin on the material to ensure their movie or TV show stands out from the pack.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was influenced by classic political thrillers, Ant-Man was a breezy heist caper, Thor: Ragnarok a cosmic buddy comedy, WandaVision was inspired by classic sitcom tropes and trappings, Guardians of the Galaxy leaned into broad space opera, Black Widow tackled globetrotting espionage and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sees the MCU dive headfirst into the martial arts epic.
The early reactions have praised both the intricate fight choreography and a star-making turn from leading man Simu Liu, and in a new interview the actor admitted that he’d love an MCU musical to happen one day.
“Is it too early to say a musical? I’ve always been a bit of a karaoke junkie. You saw a little bit of my talent in the movie, and I think that it bodes for a very exciting future for Shang as one of the first musical heroes in the MCU. I think that you would agree.”
Eternals will feature a Bollywood-inspired number featuring Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, so Marvel Studios clearly aren’t against the idea of musical interludes, although an entire superhero film laced with song-and-dance numbers might be a step too far, even for a brand as bulletproof as the MCU.
Vin Diesel also said he’d love to do a Fast & Furious musical, though, so perhaps we could be facing an industry-wide shift where the most lucrative franchises in Hollywood suddenly pivot into the most unexpected possible territory, all led by Shang-Chi‘s main man belting out some karaoke tunes.