Shang-Chi is moving right along at Marvel Studios and now, it would seem the production house has started filling out the film’s cast. The latest addition is a bit of a surprising move as Captain Marvel alum Christopher Townsend has reportedly joined the film as its visual effects supervisor, as per IMDbPro. Featuring one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most “grounded” characters to date, Townsend’s potential hiring might prove the studio is developing a larger movie than initially fought.
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In addition to working on Captain Marvel, Townsend’s other MCU credits include having the VFX supervisor role on both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Before that, he served in the same capacity on both Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The First Avenger.
While this could all just be a coincidence, all of Townsend’s projects with Marvel Studios to date have each be spaced apart every two years, starting with The First Avenger in 2011. With Captain Marvel coming earlier this year and using the pattern for the better part of a decade, this would seem to suggest Shang-Chi would be released in 2021. Again, that’s not all too surprising, though a growing contingent online was wondering if Marvel fast-tracked it quick enough to make it one of their 2020 releases.
When I spoke with the VFX boss earlier this year, he hinted that a new gig with Marvel may have been in the works.
“Maybe. They are currently talking, so yes. Hopefully there will be,” Townsend said at the time. “They’re a really fun company to work with, and what it does from a visual effects point of view is that it allows us this amazing playground of extra work and I think you get to work with some of the best companies in the world and some of the greatest artists on films that people seem to love and people go out and watch. So they’re an exciting place to be.”
ComicBook.com has reached out to Townsend’s team for comment, which was unavailable by press time.
What movie do you think has had the best visual effects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt!
Avengers: Endgame returns to theaters for a re-release this weekend while Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into action July 2nd. Captain Marvel is now available wherever movies are sold.
