After a long wait, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is finally hitting theaters tonight and has been projected to set a Labor Day Weekend opening box office record. In honor of the movie’s release, ComicBook.com has had the chance to chat with some of the movie’s stars, and we’ve heard some great stories about the movie’s lead, Simu Liu. Recently, we interviewed Fala Chen, who plays Shang-Chi’s mother in the movie, and we asked about the training that went into the role and she revealed what made Liu “scream” during their practices.
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“We did a variety of trainings,” Chen explained. “Foremost, I did a lot of tai chi training, which is the inspiration for my movements. But at the same time, we did strength training, flexibility, Pilates, durability training, as well. But I have to say my favorite part was the massage at the end of the week because we were so sore at the end of the week. Oh, and also, I loved the stretching sessions where I usually volunteered to help Simu to stretch, because in the beginning, he was not very flexible. So I would be like, ‘Simu, you need help?’ And then me and … we would just push his legs and try to push his back, and he would just scream. And yeah, I took enjoyment in that.”
During the chat, Chen also spoke about what drew her to the project.
“I think there are so many things that’s so amazing about this project. I mean, it’s a no-brainer that I accepted the offer. But I think it’s such a beautiful story that incorporated, without hard-selling, but naturally incorporated a lot of nuanced cultural elements into the story that I really appreciated. Not only Destin [Daniel Cretton], but the whole team investigating and putting all their efforts into the smallest details in our film, and that made … people can … not only people from the Chinese culture or whatnot, but to resonate because it’s authentic. Once a story is authentic, I feel like people can resonate and understand it better.”
You can watch our full interview with Fala Chen at the top of the page.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to premiere in theaters on September 3rd. The rest of Marvel’s 2021 line-up includes What If…, which releases new episodes on Disney+ on Wednesdays, Eternals in theatres on November 5th, Hawkeye on Disney+ on November 24th, and Spider-Man: No Way Home in theatres on December 17th.
