Tony Leung, the acclaimed Hong Kong actor who portrayed the "Mandarin" in Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," recently spoke with Vulture about his experience joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He revealed a disagreement with director Destin Daniel Cretton over his character's fighting style, admitting he quickly learned "not to argue with Marvel."
In the film, Leung played Xu Wenwu, Shang-Chi's father and the formidable leader of the Ten Rings organization. Given the character's millennia-long lifespan, Leung believed Wenwu's martial arts style shouldn't be limited to traditional kung fu forms familiar to audiences. Instead, he envisioned a blend of various martial arts accumulated over different eras, even approaching modern MMA's mixed martial arts concept.
Leung noted that the scale of "Shang-Chi's" production far surpassed any of his previous projects. He praised the highly professional crew, who were required to complete all tasks on schedule daily. He admitted that while this production method was efficient, it left little room for actors to improvise, stating they "couldn't even change a single word."
He recalled initially questioning the director: "If a person is from 1,000 years ago, his fighting style would definitely be a combination of all martial arts, just like today's MMA, because he has gone through such a long period of time."
However, the director rejected this idea. Leung then pressed further, asking why the character was still only using "that typical 70s kung fu." The director's response: "This is Marvel." Leung stated that after hearing this, he simply said, "Okay," and dropped the argument.
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" premiered in 2021, becoming a key film in Marvel's Phase Four. Cretton later took on directorial duties for the upcoming "Avengers 5" (formerly "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty") and is involved in developing the Disney+ series "Wonder Man."
As for the character Shang-Chi, Simu Liu is expected to reprise his role in upcoming Avengers films. Liu has also indicated that a full sequel will eventually be released, though Marvel has yet to officially announce plans for "Shang-Chi 2."
While Tony Leung's Xu Wenwu has since appeared in Marvel animation, there is currently no indication of his return to live-action projects.
via： Vulture