Production may soon begin on Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as star Awkwafina has arrived in Australia. After the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios is now making great progress on their next batch of projects that will make up Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are currently filming Eternals and two Disney+ shows, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and WandaVision, to wrap up the 2020 slate. Now, they are beginning to turn attention towards what MCU projects will arrive in 2021, starting with Shang-Chi.

The film is slated to be the first Marvel movie of 2021 and comes from director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy). The movie will feature a predominantly Asian cast, led by Simu Liu as the Master of Kung Fu. Excitement for a martial arts heavy Marvel movie has been high ever since reports of its development first began to surface ahead of last summer's confirmation it would come soon. Since that point though, there haven't been many updates on the status of Shang-Chi with only minimal casting announcements, but that may be changing thanks to one of the film's cast members.

As shared on her Instagram story, Awkwafina revealed that she's arrived in Sydney, Australia and it's likely this is so she can start filming Shang-Chi. Australia was previously announced to be the primary filming location for the Phase 4 MCU film. Early reports suggested production would begin last year, but there has been no signs that filming has actually begun yet. While filming may not have started, Awkwafina's arrival should indicate that it will commence shortly. Check out a screenshot of Awkwafina's story below:


Even though Australia is dealing with massive bushfires, production on Shang-Chi is still expected to take place there. Simu Liu has previously teased that he was in Australia, but that may have just been for pre-production and training at the time. Now with just over a year until Shang-Chi is expected in theaters, the arrival of Awkwafina is a strong indicator that cameras will start rolling soon.

This update on Shang-Chi will likely not be the only one we receive in the near future if filming is about to begin. As mentioned before, only Simu Liu, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung as the real Mandarin are officially part of the cast. There have been recent reports that Michelle Yeoh has joined the ensemble too, but Shang-Chi will need more than four actors to begin production. It's possible that Marvel will announce the full cast when production officially begins. Either way, stay tuned for more information on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Black Widow (2020)
Release Date: May 01, 2020

Eternals (2020)
Release Date: Nov 06, 2020

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Release Date: Feb 12, 2021

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2021)
Release Date: May 07, 2021

Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021)
Release Date: Jul 16, 2021

Thor: Love And Thunder (2021)
Release Date: Nov 05, 2021

Black Panther 2 (2022)
Release Date: May 06, 2022