Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton reveals that Shang-Chi almost had a brother in the movie. Shang-Chi debuted solely in theaters on September third and immediately became a MCU film industry record holder. In addition to garnering $90 million over the holiday end of the week, Shang-Chi became the third MCU film to hold the movies lead for four ends of the week straight. As the second film in Marvel’s Phase 4, Shang-Chi viably sets up the eventual fate of the MCU.
As announced by ComicBook, Cretton has revealed that Shang-Chi almost had a brother in the film instead of a sister. The idea was based on the comic books and included Shang-Chi having a brother who transformed into a monster. Cretton admitted that he and screenwriter Dave Callaham made the film excessively crazy in its early developmental stage because of their mindset that one can do anything with Marvel. While all ideas are certainly considered, not all of them make it past the makers. Look at their statements beneath:
Cretton: I mean, at one point, there was a second when Shang-Chi had a brother that was abandoned with Dad rather than a sister. That was early on. And there’s inspirations from the funnies for that character. And I think the brother, as, transformed into a monster at one point.
Callaham: We were doing some lovely peculiar stuff at the beginning before Jonathan kind of pulled us back. He knows the world. I think Destin and I, when we arrived, resembled ‘We can do anything! It’s Marvel!’ No idea was off the table to begin with, to be honest, which was really cool of Marvel, to allow the team to investigate a tad, and then eventually they tell ‘You can’t do that, that’s too crazy’ or ‘We’re doing tha
Overall, Shang-Chi having a brother would be an interesting plot to investigate, yet to replace Xialing with a monstrous brother is very another matter. Regardless of what may have been, Shang-Chi ultimately nailed the family dynamics that made up the backbone of the film. Shang-Chi’s sister, unpleasant and hardened by her tough childhood and estranged from her family, demonstrated far more relatable than a monster/brother would have been. Meanwhile, her unequal treatment as a child conceivably hints at what her ultimate thought processes and future in the MCU are. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings worked well with Xialing, yet these early ideas may hint at the introduction of further siblings not too far off, especially considering the fact that this MCU saint’s story is simply beginning.
