director of the millennium

Hey, Wu Yuan really got it right.

Kevin Feige on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then said in surprise: "Director Daniel, do you also know Shang-Chi?"

"Of course, I'm quite knowledgeable about Marvel comics." Wu Yuan said calmly.

He has indeed studied Marvel comics. After all, one should learn from others' strengths in order to defeat them. Not only him, but the entire Light and Shadow Era has been studying Marvel in recent years. Not only their movie universe, but also the comic universe is a key research object.

However, Wu Yuan knew about Shang-Chi not because he studied Marvel comics in this life, but because he was deeply impressed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in the original time and space.

If you were to choose a movie with very conflicting public opinion for Marvel audiences in China, then Marvel's first Chinese superhero movie "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" would definitely be on the list.

The source of the controversy surrounding "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is no longer the fault of the Chinese audience's "glass hearts".

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" itself is adapted from Marvel comics. Originally in the comics, Shang-Chi's father is Mandarin, and Mandarin is the incarnation of the famous historical stereotype "Fu Manchu".

Let’s put it this way, at least in the era when Shang-Chi was born, the story of this comic hero was more or less "insulting to China" and was full of various stereotypes and discrimination against the Chinese by Westerners.

However, this is not the main point why this movie has been caught in public controversy.

The real focus actually comes after the casting is announced.

The looks of the male and female protagonists chosen for the movie are really terrible.

Looking at the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some Marvel superheroes who are not considered handsome include Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Dr. Banner, etc., but it cannot be said that their actors are ugly.

But "Shang-Chi" is different. The male and female protagonists chosen are uglier than each other, and are even full of Westerners' discriminatory impressions against the Chinese.

The male lead Liu Simu's squinty eyes are so typical, but even so, he can only be considered an ordinary person. He can barely be considered ugly, and can be considered an ordinary person.

But the appearance of the heroine Awkwafina is fat, short and ugly, which almost represents all the malicious impressions of Westerners towards Oriental women!
Awkwafina's positioning is more like the heroine in a male superhero movie, and almost all Marvel movies featuring male superheroes choose actresses with good looks and good figures!
Doctor Strange’s girlfriend, Iron Man’s Pepper Potts, Dr. Banner’s girlfriend, even Hawkeye’s wife who only appeared once or twice, and MJ from the new Spider-Man, are all beauties in their respective fields!

There is also Evangeline Lilly, the heroine of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Natalie Portman in Thor, Zoe Saldana, the black heroine of Guardians of the Galaxy, and even Karen Gillan, the Nebula whose makeup is so beautiful that it is hard to tell whether she is beautiful or ugly, and Pom Klementieff, the Mantis. After removing their special effects costumes, they are all top beauties.

Perhaps the only heroine in Marvel that has been criticized is the casting of "Black Panther", but considering that Black Panther is a black actress, they can also be considered beauties in the black community.

Among Marvel superheroes, only Captain Marvel, Brie Larson, the only real "lead heroine", has a relatively ordinary appearance and is called "Aunt Marvel".

But in comparison, Awkwafina is not just ugly, her image is even deliberately ugly. Wu Yuan doesn't believe that Marvel didn't do it on purpose to choose such an actress to play the "vase" in a superhero movie.

Aren't there any beautiful Asian actors in Hollywood?
There are too many!

When Marvel was filming "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", the girl they found to play the role of Shockwave was very beautiful, and she is also a Chinese-American!
How come Marvel's aesthetic standards have declined to such a level after just a few years?
As for the male actors, Liu Simu is a classic banana person, and many "China insulting" deeds have been exposed. It is quite normal that such an actor lineup plus a bad Marvel story will be boycotted and unacceptable by the audience in mainland China.

Although, after the release of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", the story was indeed changed a lot, denying the historical problems from the root. Originally, Mandarin was a character deliberately vilified by the West because of their fear of civil and military affairs, which was due to people's ignorance and prejudice towards the East.

This treatment perfectly solved the mess of Mandarin in "Iron Man 3". The Mandarin played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai was also changed into a civil servant, and the patricide plot in the original comics was also changed into the father and son finally reconciling and joining forces to fight the final boss.

The heroine in the play plays the role of Ned from Spider-Man. She is an ordinary friend of the hero, which creates a comedic atmosphere. It also seems to explain why they don't find a beautiful woman but an ugly one, because this is a comedy role.

It seems that judging from the final effect of the film, Marvel has indeed resolved most of the controversial issues and completely separated the story of "Shang-Chi" in the movie from that in the comics.

Moreover, the martial arts design of this movie was done by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, and it may be the movie with the best fighting scenes in Marvel history.

At the same time, one-third of the film is spoken in Mandarin, which, although somewhat deviated from the presentation of the image of traditional Chinese culture, is full of tributes and does not seem disrespectful.

But all these seemingly perfect solutions cannot explain the core issue, which is why Marvel chose Simu Liu to play the leading actor, especially after he was exposed for insulting China, why did they still insist on using him?
Even when he was confirmed to have got the role, various of his past remarks were dug up and many foreigners expressed disgust and disgust towards him on the Internet, but Marvel still did not give any explanation or waver.

Even though the handsome Tony Leung was introduced in the end, this problem was not solved at all.

The Chinese-American actor Yoson An, who plays the male lead in "Mulan", and the handsome Chinese-American actor Ludi Lin, who appeared in "Aquaman", are both very handsome Chinese-American actors in Hollywood. They are both qualified to play Shang-Chi, and their images are also very positive and sunny, which completely fits the positioning of Marvel superheroes.

Even if an actress wants to choose a humorous style, she does not need to use an ugly image as a selling point. Isn't this just another stereotype, just like the fat man in Spider-Man and Han in 2 Broke Girls, it seems that funny characters have to be so ugly.

In Wu Yuan's opinion, he is directing a movie that tells a Chinese story and is to be released on a large scale overseas. The images of the hero and heroine may not be too positive, but they definitely cannot be too negative or maliciously ugly. This is the bottom line!
No matter how others film him, but if he is allowed to shoot, the image of the Chinese character in the movie can be ordinary, but not ugly. The actor's butt cannot be crooked, and he cannot be a person with a bad record!

Just as Cheng Long was unwilling to accept the role of a villain in Hollywood, feeling that his image as an international representative of the Chinese should not be damaged, Wu Yuan was unwilling to shoot a movie in which the main actor had some connotation of smearing the Chinese.

Even though the final plot and content of the film are good, leaving aside the two leading actors, it seems that the plot is quite respectful and homage to China, but the actors' butts are not clean, but they are not replaced, which shows that Marvel's butt is still a little crooked.

So, after a long silence, he took the initiative to ask Kevin Feige: "Mr. Kevin Feige, if you want me to make this movie."

"I need 100% freedom in casting, the right to finalize and modify the script, and the final editing rights."

"You know, I'm Chinese, and you know how stereotyped the original Shang-Chi comic story is."

"If you want me to film Shang-Chi, you must give me enough rights to let me see a movie that truly treats the Chinese people equally, respectfully and without any malice."

"Of course, this will also be a movie that meets the needs of Marvel Studios. You know, I am a professional in making such commercial blockbusters."

"So, what do you think?" (End of this chapter)