Shang-Chi: The Reason Some Classic Characters Don’t Appear In The New Film

Here is why Leiko Wu, Black Jack Tarr and Clive Reston were not included in Shang-Chi.
shang-chi characters

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings spoilers follow:

Last year, a rumor circulated that Marvel Comics characters Leiko Wu, Black Jack Tarr and Clive Reston – who are MI6 operatives and allies of Shang-Chi from the comics – were set to be included in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings.

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Now that the film has finally hit cinemas, fans will leave the theater knowing for sure that didn’t happen. And we know why, thanks to an interview from Murphy’s Multiverse.

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shang-chi comic characters

Charles Villanueva spoke with executive producer Jonathan Schwartz and asked if those characters were ever part of the early development process of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. His response?

“Not really. I think that very early on we decided that we wanted to move Shang-Chi in kind of a different direction and surrounding him with that cohort just never really felt quite right. It would’ve meant kind of loading the movie up with British Caucasian characters rather than having a movie that is primarily, or almost entirely, Asian or Asian-American characters, and that version just felt more exciting, fresher and cooler.”

By all accounts it seems the absence of these characters who, in the comics are actually coming after Shang-Chi’s father, doesn’t seem to matter to the overall outcome and quality of the film. But for fans of this particular part of Shang-Chi’s story never fear, because they could always show up in the future.

Kevin Feige has already indicated they have plans for a sequel so it’s certainly possible that we might see MI6 show up there.

What’d you think of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings? Let us know in the comments below or over on social media.

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Shang-Chi Simu Liu

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Source: Murphy’s Multiverse

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