Tradecraft: Marvel Announces Shang-Chi Casting, Title

As much as I love Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and I love it dearly!) and Black Widow, my favorite Marvel spy comic has to be the original 1970s run of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu... particularly the issues showcasing the brilliant collaboration of writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy (a team who would go on to produce the best James Bond comic book to date, "Serpent's Tooth"). Last December, it was first reported that a Shang-Chi movie would feature among Marvel Studios' next slate of films. All has been quiet since then... until this past weekend. On a massive panel at Comic-Con Saturday night, Deadline reports, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced the first official details about the studio's upcoming Master of Kung Fu movie, including its title and who will play the titular master, Shang-Chi.

Feige told the assembled hordes of fans in SDCC's Hall H that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will open on February 12, 2021. Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu will play Shang-Chi. Best known for a Canadian sitcom called Kim's Convenience, Liu has earned spy cred with roles on Nikita and the Taken TV show. As studied Marvel fanatics will glean from the title, Iron Man comics villain the Mandarin (basically a Marvel rip-off of Sax Rohmer's 1920s-created "yellow peril" character Fu Manchu) will replace the actual Fu Manchu (a character Marvel licensed in the Seventies, but no longer has the rights to) as Shang-Chi's criminal mastermind father... and the great Tony Leung (Lust, Caution, The Silent War) will play him. Actress and rapper Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians, Ocean's 8) will also appear in the film, though her role was not announced. I can't really imagine her as Shang-Chi's love interest Leiko Wu, but she might make a good foil as his duplicitous half-sister Fah Lo Suee. (Or she could be playing an original comedic role, of course.) As previously announced, Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) will direct, and Dave Callaham (Jean-Claude Van Johnson) handles scripting duties, making up an all Asian-American creative team driving the picture.

The comic book The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu was created in the early Seventies to (obviously) cash in on the kung fu craze of the time. Comics legends Steve Englehart (Batman: Strange Apparitions) and Jim Starlin (Avengers: Infinity War) originated the character, but it was the dynamic writer/artist team of Moench and Gulacy who became most associated with Shang-Chi... and who gave the comic a new direction as an espionage series.

Shang-Chi's real world origins at Marvel are a bit complicated, as the publisher had acquired the rights to Rohmer's villainous Fu Manchu character (still well-known at the time thanks to a series of Christopher Lee movies in the Sixties), but Englehart was more interested in the popular TV series of the time, Kung Fu. So he incorporated Rohmer's characters Fu Manchu and his nemesis, British adventurer Sir Denis Nayland-Smith, but invented a new character to star in the series more inspired by Kung Fu... Fu Manchu's hitherto unknown son, Shang-Chi. Though the father had seen to it that the son was trained from birth to be a Master of Kung Fu, when Shang-Chi discovered that the father he believed to be munificent was actually a diabolical criminal mastermind, he turned on him, and found employment with Nayland-Smith and the British Secret Service. In the hands of Moench and Gulacy, secret agent Shang-Chi encountered all manner of spy hijinks, from moles inside MI6 to supervillains with private islands, gadgets galore, and robotic armies. He also developed a roster of memorable sidekicks, including Nayland-Smith's assistant and bodyguard Black Jack Tarr (drawn by Gulacy to resemble Sean Connery in The Man Who Would Be King), and fellow MI6 agent Clive Reston (drawn by Gulacy at first to resemble Connery in Goldfinger, but later looking more and more like Roger Moore), who is strongly hinted to be the son of James Bond and the grand-nephew of Sherlock Holmes. Should the character of Black Jack Tarr make the movie roster (and it's hard to imagine Master of Kung Fu without him), I'd love to see Jason Statham brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in that role! Sure, he's too short... but I think he'd nail the attitude--and make a formidable physical foil for Liu.

While Marvel's most famous spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D., never showed up in the pages of Master of Kung Fu (though Shang-Chi did eventually team up with Nick Fury and Black Widow in a multi-issue arc of Marvel Team-Up), Gulacy's stunning artwork owed a clear debt to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. artist Jim Steranko. Like Steranko, Gulacy reveled in quasi-sci-fi technology and weaponry and innovative, experimental page layouts. (One particular standout turned the page into a maze, following Shang-Chi's progress against a variety of opponents as he navigated the labyrinth.) He also brought his own obsessions to the table, like Bond-inspired, movie poster-style splash pages, relentlessly sexy women in proto-Gaultier leather fashions, and the liberal use of famous actors' likenesses to "cast" the book with everyone from Bruce Lee (upon whom Gulacy's Shang-Chi was clearly based) to Marlon Brando, Christopher Lee (as Fu Manchu, of course), David Niven, and even Groucho Marx. The result was a truly unique book that far transcended (and consequently outlasted) the kung fu movie trend from which it was born, and drew influence from all sorts of popular culture. I think it may well be my very favorite Marvel comic. Long unavailable outside of back issue bins, the entire 125-issue series has at long last been reprinted over the past few years in four massive, hardcover omnibus volumes, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Marvel has also recently begun a line of cheaper paperback "Epic Collections."

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Return to Marvel Movies

Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. was taken apart in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (one of the best spy movies of the decade), we've seen very little of its agents in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently that's about to change. Two announcements earlier this month indicate that two of Marvel Comics' most famous agents will be making their way into upcoming MCU movies.

Deadline reports that Samuel L. Jackson will return as Nick Fury in 2019's Captain Marvel, where he will reunite with his Kong: Skull Island and Unicorn Store co-star Brie Larson (Free Fire). Jackson last appeared as Fury in a brief cameo in The Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2014. He is expected to reprise the role in The Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel. At first I assumed this news probably indicated that Fury will survive those films, which are expected to take a high toll on the MCU heroes. But yesterday Deadline updated their story, reporting that Captain Marvel will for some reason take place in the early 1990s, making it a prequel to all the other MCU films except for the first Captain America (which took place in WWII) and the Eighties-set opening scene of Ant-Man. Moreover, Marvel chief Kevin Feige revealed at Comic-Con that Fury will have two eyes in Captain Marvel. Does that mean he'll still be in the Army? (Presumably the MCU Nick also started out as Sgt. Fury, even if he came along long after the Howling Commandos.) Will Jackson sport his Pulp Fiction wig? (That I'd like to see!) We probably won't find out until closer to March 2019 when the movie opens. And in the meantime, Nick Fury is as precariously poised as anyone else when it comes to surviving the Infinity War.

Even more exciting, perhaps, is the news that first appeared on The Tracking Board (via Dark Horizons) and since been confirmed by multiple outlets that Randall Park (The Interview) will portray Agent Jimmy Woo in Ant-Man and the Wasp! Woo debuted in the late 1950s as an FBI agent in Marvel precursor Atlas Comics' The Yellow Claw before Jim Steranko brought him into his Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. stories in Strange Tales and ultimately made him a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent himself. Woo has sine been a fixture of the Marvel Universe, appearing in various comics over the years including Godzilla and Agents of ATLAS. Park is an excellent actor, but primarily a comedic one. (He stars on the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat recently made a scene-stealing cameo in Snatched.) I can imagine him fitting in very well with Paul Rudd and Michael Pena in a comic relief role, but I hope that's not the case. Jimmy Woo was the first Asian-American comic book hero, and was treated as a serious member of the team in the Sixties. I would hate to see him reduced to a joke. That said, the part could of course be both comedic and completely competent, which is what I'm hoping for. Either way, it will be cool to see Woo make his MCU debut.

Watch Archer's Comic-Con Greeting

Check out Sterling Archer's special greeting from this weekend's Comic-Con panel. The animated superspy is joined by Pam and Krieger (both cosplaying Mad Max: Fury Road), and lobs some Archer-style barbs at a number of films with panels at the Con, including fellow Cold War spy throwback The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Holy Emmapeeler, Batman! DC Comics Announces Batman/Avengers Team-Up!

The best news out of Comic-Con came on the final day. DC co-publisher Dan Didio announced a forthcoming comic book crossover between Batman and The Avengers. Yes, those Avengers! The real Avengers, Steed and Mrs. Peel! They will be crossing over with, most appropriately, the Adam West TV version of Batman from the Sixties. There aren't many details yet (no creators announced, no promo artwork, and no number of issues), but Batman '66/Steed and Mrs. Peel is coming, and that is wonderful. Hopefully a high-profile comic like this will revitalize Boom!'s flagging Steed and Mrs. Peel line and lead to more solo comic book adventures for the most dynamic duo of Sixties television. (I'm assuming this is an inter-company crossover with Boom!, but I suppose it's possible that the Steed and Mrs. Peel license has shifted to DC, which would also be an interesting development.) DC has been publishing a Batman '66 line, based on the West TV series, for a few years now, and it's already included a lengthy crossover series co-published with Dynamite Entertainment featuring the Caped Crusader and the Green Hornet, who had previously crossed over in a memorable TV episode. No doubt in this Avengers crossover, we'll get to see Steed in an umbrella duel with the Penguin, and Emma in a catsuited catfight with Catwoman. I can't wait!

Watch the New, 5-Minute Long U.N.C.L.E. Trailer From Comic-Con!

Warner Bros. has decided to share the clip reel from today's Man From U.N.C.L.E. Comic-Con panel with the public! And it's a doozy. Everything we've seen so far from this movie has looked fantastic, but this is the best trailer yet. And it's five minutes long! But therein lies the rub: it's possible that this reel might give away too much of the movie, it shows bits of so many setpieces (but doesn't seem to spoil any major plot points). So if you're already positive you're going to see the film and you have more restraint than I, you might perhaps want to just wait until August 14. But if you're at all on the fence (or don't care about giving some of the action away), by all means, feast your eyes on this awesomeness! It looks... like The Man From U.N.C.L.E.! Perfectly realized with a 21st Century attitude and budget, whilst retaining the 1960s setting. Which is to say, it looks like perfection. I am so excited!

Star Cars Covers Bond Vehicles

The latest episode of Crave Online's highly entertaining Star Cars series profiles a quartet of James Bond vehicles that were on display at Comic Con last month. Spy fandom's favorite couple, Brad Hansen and Athena Stamos (organizers of last year's awesomely ambitious Bondathon), have put together a wonderful piece about these fantastic cars and boats and parahawk things! Check it out.

First Look At Bond 50 Blu-ray Packaging

Sony may not be promoting Skyfall with a Comic-Con panel, but IMAX screened new foorage during their presentation and Fox has a very cool booth on the dealer floor devoted to the upcoming 50th Anniversary set of James Bond Blu-rays. They have a different Bond vehicle on display each day, courtesy of the Ian Fleming Foundation, and fans can pose for pictures with the vehicles. But they've also got the actual Blu-ray packaging, and here it is. As you can see, the long, thin box contains two separate hardcover books housing the discs for all twenty-two official movies--plus an empty slot for the twenty-third, Skyfall, when that comes out! (The disc in the picture is a dummy.)

COMIC-CON: Haywire Trailer, Poster and Panel

Really spotty Internet connections kept me from posting timely updates from Comic-Con, but now I'll play catch-up after the fact. One of my favorite panels I attended was for Steven Soderbergh's upcoming spy movie starring mixed martial artist Gina Carano, whose non-acting background is offset by the presence of heavy-hitting, big-time actors like Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and freshly-minted spy star Michael Fassbender. The trailer clearly seems to be cut around Ms. Carano's dialogue, as she barely speaks in it and doesn't exactly impress when she does, but it doesn't seem like the sort of movie where speaking really counts for much anyway. What she does do very convincingly is fight, and that seems like a more important skill set for as action-heavy a spy movie as Haywire. Furthermore, Carano demonstrated ample charisma in person on the panel. I remember the heady days of the early Nineties when the right combination of fighting ability and charisma could make an action star... and I liked them. Beyond Carano's performance, this trailer delivers some classic spy iconography in atmospheric shots of European cities and streets. It's a sort of spy movie Soderbergh hasn't attempted before, and I'm eager to see what he does with it. On the panel, he confessed that he's a fan of the spy genre, and that should come as little surprise to anyone who's seen his non-traditional espionage films like The Informant! or The Good German. (Unfortunately, nobody asked him about The Man From U.N.C.L.E.)

Besides the trailer, Soderbergh debuted a complete scene from the movie at the con in which Carano fights Fassbender in a hotel room. It's a particularly brutal smack-down, heightened by the fact that they're both in formal wear. It was clear from the clip that Soderbergh's still determined to light his interiors in a dim orange hues (is he just using the fluorescents in the room?), which I find kind of annoying, but it was also clear that Carano's skills will go a long way in convincing moviegoers of her character's black ops background. I kind of feared for Fassbender's life watching those punches land, and had no doubt that she was entirely capable of beating him up. (As it turns out, those fears were justified. Soderbergh shared that one misstep during shooting landed him briefly unconscious.)

Haywire opens in January.