It was announced in September 2024 that filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has been named as the director for the sequel to 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, the fourth Spider-Man film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here’s what Destin Daniel Cretton’s role with Spider-Man 4 means for the long-gestating Shang-Chi 2.
What Spider-Man 4 Means for Shang-Chi 2
Filmmaker Jon Watts, who had directed all three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, left the series after No Way Home to initially helm Fantastic Four: First Steps before deciding to focus on non-Marvel Studios projects. After a pre-production break due to the 2023 writers’ strike, early development resumed by the end of 2023, and Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously directed and co-wrote 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, signed on to direct the currently untitled sequel to No Way Home in September 2024. Sony is interested in having principal photography on Spider-Man 4 begin by early 2025, approximately the same time that filming begins on Avengers: Doomsday.
Prior to signing on for Spider-Man 4, Cretton was linked to write and direct a sequel to Shang-Chi as well as a Marvel Studios Disney+ original series and direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before the latter was completely retooled into Doomsday. By November 2023, Cretton officially stepped away from directing an Avengers movie, while his planned Disney+ series was revealed to be based on the superhero Wonder Man. Having signed on to direct Spider-Man 4, it appears Cretton’s involvement in a Shang-Chi sequel or Wonder Man series is on hold, at the very least until his Spider-Man commitments are completed.
What Is the Current Status of Shang-Chi 2
After Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ successful theatrical run, Marvel Studios had been interested in producing a direct sequel to the movie. However, development had stalled because of Cretton’s commitment to helming The Kang Dynasty at the time, with delays rumored as early as July 2023 and star Simu Liu claiming that the Shang-Chi sequel would begin after the upcoming Avengers movie instead. Despite the lack of official news, Liu confirmed that a Shang-Chi sequel had not been abandoned by Marvel Studios in April 2024, without providing further details about the production.
With Cretton taking on a new superhero film project in the interim, it appears Shang-Chi 2 will indeed face a new delay unless it looks to take on a new creative vision in the director’s chair without Cretton. More to the point, it looks like the creative revamp, changing The Kang Dynasty to Doomsday, is more responsible for the delays of Shang-Chi 2 than Cretton signing onto Spider-Man 4. Shang-Chi will likely reappear in the MCU in the future, but his next solo film is years off, regardless of who is directing the sequel.
Published: Sep 21, 2024 06:58 pm