Editor's note: Spoilers for Shang-Chi follow below.
In the wake of the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings massive opening weekend box office, MCU fans were left with a number of lingering questions, ranging from the meaning of those post-credits scenes to wanting further details on some Easter eggs hidden in the film. One question they no longer have to wonder about, though, is the nature of Shang-Chi's relationship with Katy as director Destin Daniel Cretton opened up to Variety's Adam B. Vary about crafting their friendship.
Cretton spoke with Vary for an extended interview, ranging from stereotypes to difficulties in casting the film. One element that didn't make it into the piece was the onscreen chemistry between stars Simu Liu and Awkwafina, and how their characters' relationship developed. Vary later shared Cretton's response in a Tweet, lamenting that it contained spoilers he wanted to avoid in the piece:
"Weirdly, you just don't see very much of that type of relationship, particularly movies like this. We kept going back and forth, because there's an argument against doing that — you also don't see Asian male romantic leads. But it just never felt right for this story to even dip into that. Because Shang-Chi's drama is so deeply connected to his family and this pretty intense stuff he had to deal with, that romance always felt forced. A friendship like this — which feels very much like a lot of friends that I have, [where] it's never been romantic but it's also deeply caring and a very real friendship — was something that we don't see very much of in movies. It felt very real to me, and I just didn't feel like we needed to push it beyond that."
Cretton co-wrote the script with Just Mercy scribe Andrew Lanham and Wonder Woman 1984 writer Dave Callaham, based on a story by Cretton and Callaham. Learning that they considered taking that relationship in a more romantic direction offers a fascinating insight into the film's development. It's a small detail, but clearly a well-considered one.
The movie certainly doesn't suffer for the lack of romantic situations. Cretton mentions the family drama as competing for space, but there's also heaps of action, a potentially status qu-changing artifact, and world-class performances from Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh. Plus, any romance might have put a damper on Awkwafina's quips!
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in theaters now. Check out Vary's tweet below.