Things are starting to get back up to pace with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will follow Black Widow with a UK release date (details below) later in 2021. It continues phase 4 of the MCU timeline, so here are all of the main details for the film, including the the age rating, our parents guide, cast, story and runtime.
It’s essentially a father son story as Shang-Chi will face off against his dear old dad Wenwu, who’s other names include The Mandarin. That gives you the hero and the villain for the film, but the detail is in the relationships as the two parted ways at an early age. However, the martial arts training he received as a kid lives on and he must harness the power of the Ten Rings to topple his father’s power and control.
AdvertisementMastery and harmony with the rings will give him incredible powers over nature with water manipulation and fighting lions just two of the tricks up his sleeve. The problem is that his dad is The Mandarin and there’s clearly a lot more under the hood that Marvel is keeping a little quiet about, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it all shapes up when the film comes out.
Cast
Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi, which is no mean feat considering he was an extra on Pacific Rim back in 2013. He’s joined by Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon) as his friend Katy, Tony Leung as his dad, Michelle Yeoh (Guardians of the Galaxy 2) as Jiang Nan, Meng’er Zhang as his sister, Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist and Ronny Chieng as his friend Jon Jon.
AdvertisementWe’ll update you with more details about the cast as they’re confirmed.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings UK release date
Obviously the UK release date for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been put back due to cinema closures for the global COVID 19 pandemic. However, it is now confirmed to come out in Britain on Friday the 3rd September 2021, following its previous date of the 12th February 2021. It’s one of a few MCU films with releases planned this year with both Black Widow and The Eternals hitting the big screen too.
It’s competition for Box Office glory comes from the latest adaptation of Cinderella, which is out on the same weekend in the UK. We’re expecting Shang-Chi to take the number 1 spot, but early September isn’t exactly a big film watching date, so it could still have a tough time, despite the lack of big name competition. If reviews are positive though, the Marvel fanbase will be out in droves, so it will all come down to the reception.
AdvertisementWith the late summer release, it could be out on DVD, Blu-ray and digital ahead of Christmas 2021, but as a Marvel film it will be streaming on Disney + in the not too distant future.
You can follow us on Twitter to see more news and updates on upcoming films, and you can see more on the film in the run up to the release with the official Marvel Twitter page at twitter.com/marvel.
Age rating and parents guide
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has now confirmed the official UK age rating as 12A. Prior to this there was a lot of MCU movie history to go on in terms of our parents guide. Most recent Marvel films like Black Widow have an age rating of either 12 or 12A, and that has now gone on to be the same for the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The parents guide notes include moderate violence, but with little to no sex or sexual references or drug use as these are all not seen or heard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As this is a martial arts film, there’s a lot of emphasis on the fighting, but that’s often the case for all Marvel films, so if you’re happy with the like of Avengers: Endgame then you should be fine with this too. With the giant lion there’s fantasy threat in the mix too, along with bloody images and a little bad language to take into account.
We’ll update you with more details on the film as they get confirmed. You can also check out our movie news section to keep tabs on the latest upcoming films, or visit the Marvel website at https://www.marvel.com.
Runtime
The runtime for Shang-Chi is 2 hours and 12 minutes, so it’s hefty enough without being up there with the likes of Endgame. If you’re mulling over whether or not to catch it on the big screen, you can check out more details with the features below.
