Will Marvel’s new movie ‘Shang-Chi’ drop on Disney+?
For over a decade, Marvel Studios has been changing the landscape of the superhero genre and the entire film industry. Beginning with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008 and running the course of twenty-three films before the culmination with Avengers: Endgame (2019), the MCU has grossed a total of over $20 billion.
There were many questions about what direction they would take after the defeat of Thanos, and they seemed poised to work backward with the release of Black Widow in early 2021. But with the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, they signaled their intent to stride forward, blazing new paths with new characters instead of relying on the popularity of the past.
But, if you are still hesitant about hitting the theaters, you may have missed the run in your local cinema. That used to mean that you would have to wait months to see the film on DVD or BluRay, but with the new reality of streaming services, you won’t have to wait that long.
New start
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), a master of weapon-based kung-fu, is forced to return to a life he left behind to face his past and the villainous Ten Rings. This is the first step in the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to establish a new storyline to recapture the magic of The Infinity Saga.
As many other MCU characters do, Shang-Chi has to start somewhere, and as they have many times in the past, Marvel creates an astounding origin story that hints at something much bigger happening in the MCU. In a real example of consistency, Marvel includes many cameos from already established characters to draw an audience, including the Hulk villain Abomination and Dr. Strange ally Wong.
The film opened to rave reviews with stellar performances by Liu and his ally Katy (Awkwafina). Meanwhile, the movie also features incredible fight choreography. Filmmakers said they drew a lot of inspiration from classic kung-fu examples like Jackie Chan. One of the elements that set this film apart from others was the inclusion of rich Chinese culture & mythology, much like Black Panther (2018) did with African culture.
Disney+
After the events of Avengers: Endgame and the impact of COVID-19, the release of future MCU films was shrouded in mystery. Once Spiderman: Far From Home hit theaters, Disney & Marvel turned their attention to limited series releasing on Disney+ to a weekly schedule based on established characters such as Loki, Falcon, Winter Soldier, Vision, and Scarlet Witch.
With theaters opening back up after the world began to slowly restart, Disney & Marvel were ready to hit cinemas with one of the most asked-for films for the past decade with Black Widow. The release caused a lot of controversies when it was also simultaneously released on Disney+ for viewers to stay home and see it.
This was an approach the company had taken with many of their most recent releases, including Aladdin, Lion King, and Mulan. However, Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson attests that the simultaneous release negatively impacted the box office and hurt her profits.
Shang-Chi on Disney+
With the release of the new Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Disney has gone back to its original release format by giving the installment a run solely in theaters before making it available on its streaming service. The decision on what date to make it available coincided with another celebration.
Disney will release the new Marvel movie on November 12th, along with an extensive collection of content, including Jungle Cruise (starring Dwayne Johnson & Emily Blunt) and original animated shorts like Olaf Presents (based on the popular Frozen character) and Ciao Alberto (featuring characters from Luca). All of this is to celebrate the streaming service’s second anniversary.
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Which movie are you looking forward to watching on Disney+? Let us know in the comments below!
