Shang-Chi Producer Addresses Concerns About MCU Movie’s Dark Tone

Jonathan Schwartz, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings producer have addressed concerns over the movie’s dark tone. The movie marks as being the first leading Asian superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It brings new elements of martial arts and mysticism to the superhero universe.

Shang-Chi features Simu Liu as the main character and it is set to release today (September 3). The first Phase 4 movie is around the new hero and will focus on his story. Shang-Chi’s story picks up with him living in America as he finds himself but is again sucked into the nuisance of the infamous Ten Rings organization.

The character comes face-to-face with his father, The Mandarin and is forced to look back at his past. Tony Leung and Simu Liu star in the movie alongside Awkwafina, Meng-er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, Fala Chen, and Michelle Yeoh.

The movie has been appreciated but much has been said about its willingness to go to dark places. Jonathan addressed this in a recent interview with Comicbook.com and framed it as a storytelling opportunity. He said, “I think putting them in the headspace of young Shang-Chi … I assume that’s part of what you’re talking about when you talk about the darkness. It was exciting. (And) It felt exciting. It felt visceral.”

The producer continued that it felt like they were really getting at something cool. He added, “So, in general, if there’s a moment or an idea or a feeling that scares us, we feel risk, we’re all like, ‘Oh, we’ll know we’ll always do it and go for it and run at it.’ And then, if it feels like you’ve gone too far, you can always pull back. But I think we’ve learned to kind of trust those feelings to keep us from impeding ourselves.”

The early glimpses of Shang-Chi have promised a layered story full of emotions. Humour has been a part of the movie as well as it is of every other Marvel venture. The film revolves around the hero as he comes to terms with the abuse he faced as a child while training to be a warrior. Even if it was a risk, Jonathan and his creative team saw an opportunity to do something “exciting”.

The darkness of Shang-Chi could work in its favour as movies like Black Panther and Captain America have also dived into dark subjects while pushing the Marvel story forward.