Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, an upcoming instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is temporarily suspending the first-unit production due to coronavirus concerns.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision was made after the film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, decided to get tested for COVID-19 and was recommended by a doctor to self-isolate for two weeks. However, it has been reported that production isn’t set to shut down entirely as second unit and other aspects of production will continue to move forward.
“As many of you know, Destin, our director, has a newborn baby,” a note to the movie’s crew reads. “He wanted to exercise additional caution given the current environment and decided to get tested for Covid-19 today. He is currently self-isolating under the recommendation of his doctor. While he waits for the results of the test, we are suspending 1st unit production in an abundance of caution until he gets the results this coming week. Second unit and off production will continue as normal. We will reach out to everyone by Tuesday for the latest update. This is an unprecedented time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work through this.”
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The upcoming Marvel title is currently filming in Australia, which has 156 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of writing this. However, Shang-Chi isn’t the only production in Australia affected by the pandemic as earlier this week, Warner Bros. halted production on its Elvis Presley biopic after Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were both tested positive for COVID-19.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (The Glass Castle) and will see Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience) taking on the role of the Master of Kung-Fu alongside Tony Leung (Infernal Affairs) as The Mandarin and Awkwafina (The Farewell) in an as-yet-unrevealed role. It is set for release on February 12th 2021.
