In a new promo trailer for ‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’, Kevin Feige promised that it would take our breath away and that it would comparable to anything we’ve seen in the MCU. In my opinion, Kevin Feige has a big problem when he makes a promise like that. It sounds to me like Kevin Feige is trying to hold on to the glory that once was the MCU. With the failure of ‘Black Widow’ at the box office and the very weak interest in Disney Plus’ ‘Loki’, ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, and ‘WandaVision’, it would seem that phase 4 is floundering.
The promo trailer opens up with the actor who plays Shang-Chi, Simu Liu, stating that at its core, ‘Shang-Chi’ is a Marvel movie.
“Shang-Chi is, at its core, a Marvel movie. That comes with a promise of action. And a certain promise to the quality of the sequences that we’re about to deliver.”
What does that even mean? Of course it’s a Marvel movie…are they unsure? What I’m hearing is that we are going to get a lot of martial arts action that’s devoid of story. Kevin Feige followed that description of ‘Shang-Chi’ by comparing it to what we’ve seen so far in the MCU.
“This film will take your breath away on the big screen. And it is as big as anything that we’ve ever brought to life in the MCU before.”
Kevin Feige Can’t Compete Against the Last Three Phases of the MCU
This smells of desperation as I think Kevin Feige and the current crop of writers are lost and don’t know how to combat the success that were phases 1 through 3. In addition, With the the main actor, Simu Liu, firing back at Bob Chapek for making comments that ‘Shang-Chi’ being released in theaters was an interesting experiment and Disney finding it difficult to get a release date in China, it doesn’t look good for the success of ‘Shangi-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings’.
“Shang-Chi?…Never Heard of Him.”
The real problem is what Disney and Marvel are not doing and that is writing and grounding themselves in a good story. If you watch the whole trailer, you’ll see that it promotes, almost entirely, how great the action scenes and martial arts sequences are going to be. It does not talk about how ‘Shang-Chi’ relies on its story except for a 3 second snippet in which Michelle Yeoh, who plays Ying Nan, says “it has a very magical story behind it…” that felt like an afterthought. I think ‘Shang-Chi and the legends of the Ten Rings’ is going to be an absolute failure at the box office. And not because Shang-Chi is not a good character(I read the early Shang-Chi comic books and loved them), but because Marvel and Kevin Feige are relying on a formula that has worked in the past minus the great storytelling. Plus…who has heard of Shang-Chi? Was anyone asking for this movie or knocking down the door to see this character on the big screen…I don’t think so.
Having a Strong White Male Lead is Problematic
Marvel is following in the footsteps of Disney’s inclusive and diversity formula, in which they feel the need to appease every demographic so as not to
piss everyone off. As soon as Captain Marvel was released, Kevin Feige jumped on the woke band wagon and decided that having white male leads was detrimental to the success of marvel’s phase 4. Look at what he did in WandaVision when he decided not have Dr. Strange show up at the end of WandaVision to aide Wanda…Feige stated that having a white guy show up would show up Wanda! In ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, I tuned out after episode 2 when cops confronted Sam in the street, because he was black, not realizing that he was the Falcon. It was such a forced political point that it took away from what could have been a great MCU TV show. Also, what Feige did to the character of Loki in ‘Loki’. They made Loki look like a simpering wimp that only knew how to cry or talk throughout the whole show. This was one of the best villains the MCU had to foil Avengers. I mean that scene where Loki tears the eye out of Dr. Henreich Schafer…and enjoys it…is worth the price of admission.
Marvel…Please Stop Focusing on Identity Politics in Your Stories
With the forced diversity and politics placed purposely in these shows and movies, people are tuning out in droves. Not to mention the re-watchability factor. I can attest to the fact that I love rewatching anything from phases 1 through 3. Most of them are really great fun entertainment and are still talked about to this day(I can attest to that as well, as my son and I always have great conversations on these when we re-watch them). Is anyone talking about ‘Black Widow’, ‘Loki’, or ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’? No they are not. But, as soon as Marvel and Disney started to prioritize diversity and politics in their entertainment, rather than on the magnitude of great characters and storylines they have in their figurative libraries, is when we have seen the failures begin to mount. What Feige and Marvel will soon figure out, though, is that focusing on identity politics and checking the boxes, will result in a loss of revenue. Phases 1 through 3 gave the fans what they wanted. Great characters and stories on screen that made us all want to come back for more, buy the physical media, and enjoy it again and again. The fans are turning away from the constant barrage of lecturing on how we need to be better and turning to other forms of entertainment that don’t preach to us. If Kevin Feige and Disney don’t figure out what’s happening soon, then Marvel and its phase 4 will be headed for the same demise that Star Wars has…and that’s just sad.
Related: Loki is Gender Fluid…Apparently
