Marvel and Disney have announced they will temporarily shutter production on Shang-Chi after its director Destin Daniel Cretton was asked to self-isolate by a doctor over suspicions he might have contracted the coronavirus.
In a note to the production team in Australia where filming is taking place, Marvel confirmed that some “first unit production” will be suspended until further notice:
As many of you know, Destin, our director, has a new born baby. 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.
It is currently unclear when shooting was originally scheduled to finish and whether this will impact the film’s planned release date of February 2021.
The film, which stars the likes of Simu Lu, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung, is based on the original Marvel Comic Shang-Chi. The story follows Shang, a half-Chinese, half-American superhero who is master of numerous unarmed and weaponry-based wushu styles, including the use of the gun and specialized Asian weaponry.
Shang-Chi is not the only production to suspend filming amid the coronavirus pandemic. Television shows including Riverdale, Survivor, and the upcoming Fox series neXt have all suspended production over the past week following one or more of their crew members testing positive for the virus.
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