Marvel’s Shang-Chi: Kevin Feige Says “Experiment” Situation Is “a Misunderstanding”

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings enters theaters in just over two weeks, giving fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe their first solo superhero flick featuring a new character in years. The earliest reactions for the film have been overwhelmingly great, and yet, there’s still a sense of scandal surrounding the film.

Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Shang-Chi and Free Guy were an experiment for the company, comments Shang-Chi star Simu Liu quickly fired back on. Monday night, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige finally opened up on the situation, calling Liu’s now-viral tweet “a misunderstanding” of what Chapek really meant.

“He is not a shy man. I think in that particular tweet you can see and I think everyone does, a misunderstanding,” Feige told THR of Liu’s comments. “It was not the intention. The proof is in the movie and we swing for the fences as we always do. With the amount of creative energy we put in and the budget, there’s no expense spared to bring this origin story to the screen.”

Chapek’s comments came during a Disney investor’s call, when he said the shortened theatrical window of Shang-Chi and Free Guy was something going to be heavily monitored by the company because of the ongoing pandemic.

“On Free Guy, obviously this is a title that we acquired under a different distribution assumption and set of agreements, so we don’t have the degree of freedom to do that,” Chapek explained, alluding to Fox’s role in this before they were acquired. “On Shang-Chi, we actually think it’s going to be an interesting experiment for us because it’s got only a 45-day window for us. The prospect of being able to take a Marvel title to the service after going theatrical for 45 days will be yet another data point to inform our actions going forward on our titles.”

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, which is currently set for release on September 3rd.

What other characters do you think will end up popping up in Shang-Chi? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!