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Kevin Feige has talked about comments made by Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu about the Marvel movie's release strategy.
During a Disney earnings call, Chapek described Shang-Chi's 45 day exclusive theatrical release as an "interesting experiment." Liu took to Twitter seemingly in response to say: "We are not an experiment. We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise. I'm fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US."
At Shang-Chi's premiere, Feige addressed the comments, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "[Liu] is not a shy man. I think in that particular tweet you can see – and I think everyone does – a misunderstanding. It was not the intention. The proof is in the movie, and we swing for the fences as we always do. With the amount of creative energy we put in and the budget, there's no expense spared to bring this origin story to the screen."
Feige also recently indicated that the release plan for the next Marvel film, Eternals, hasn't yet been finalized. "I think a theater would be my preference, and Chloé [Zhao, director]'s preference," he said. "We will see where we go with it."
Black Widow was a simultaneous Disney Plus Premier Access and theatrical release, and is now on track to be one of Marvel's lowest grossing movies – and Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for what she says is a breach of her contract. It's likely that Shang-Chi's performance at the box office will be a major factor in deciding on whether Eternals plays exclusively in theaters or not.
