No one knows what to expect before directing their first superhero movie, especially one as groundbreaking as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Luckily, Destin Daniel Cretton got some encouragement from another filmmaker in the Marvel stable. In a recent press conference, Cretton shared how Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler persuaded him to join the MCU.
Cretton had virtually no experience directing a big blockbuster before signing on to make Shang-Chi. And since Coogler has also made the leap from indie movies to studio juggernauts, he understood why Cretton may have been hesitant to take a chance on the film.
“The thing that Ryan said to me, which really eased my mind, was the pressure is hard,” said Cretton (via CBR). “It’ll be the hardest thing potentially that you have done up to this point, but none of that pressure or complications come from the people you’re working with or for.”
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Coogler’s advice seems to have worked. During recent press runs for Shang-Chi, Cretton has hinted that he already has ideas for potential sequels. And in another sit-down with Variety, he praised Marvel’s willingness to try new things.
“At Marvel, I feel like they should put up a big poster up on their wall that just says, ‘Try it,’” related Cretton. “That seems to be what the mantra is there when there is a risk-taking idea. There may be other studios that before we even get a chance to put it in front of an audience, they’d say, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ But they let us put it in front of an audience. And from the very beginning, audiences didn’t only not complain about it. They actually talked about it as a positive, as like a really exciting way to enter into this world.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters this Friday, September 3.
Are you excited to see what Cretton brought to the superhero landscape this weekend? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu Omnibus Vol. 1
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