Good news for Marvel superhero movie fans who are still hesitant to go to the cinema. Disney is rumored to be releasing Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings produced by Marvel Studios on Disney Plus on November 12. The film will come along with plenty of other new content — as part of the two-year anniversary of the streaming channel’s launch.
Release Shang-Chi on Disney+ coincides with what Disney calls Disney Plus Day. They are carrying out a marketing campaign for Shang-Chi which will be available as free viewing for the first time on the streaming service at the same time as Jungle Cruise which is also available on the stream at no additional cost. That date will also mark the release of several special events about characters Star WarsBoba Fett and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney Plus, along with other promotional releases.
Shang-Chi has been one of the biggest film success stories at the box office during this pandemic, generating over $305 million in worldwide ticket grosses in less than two weeks. A major factor in that success was the release strategy that kept it from streaming simultaneously (unlike Black Widow).
As we all know, unlike other films that Disney released during the pandemic, Shang-Chi not immediately available for streaming on Disney Plus. Previously, several Disney films — usually midbudget live-action films and the latest Pixar films, Luca and Soul — skips theaters completely and is available to stream on Disney Plus at no additional cost. For the biggest movies, Disney+ is introducing the Premier Access model to sell streaming access to the latest feature films. Disney+ members can stream new movies at home for $30 on top of their subscription price.
Earlier this past mid-August, Disney CEO Bob Chapek had indicated Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be heading to Disney Plus exactly 45 days after it hits theaters. “Prospects of being able to bring Marvel movies to streaming services, once they hit theaters [dalam] 45 days will be another data point to inform our decisions going forward,” Chapek said later. But Chapek also stressed at the time that Disney values flexibility above all else when deciding how to release a film during the pandemic, pointing out that plans could change.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings starring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, a martial arts expert trained by the Ten Rings organization since childhood together with Tony Leung as a character named Wenwu or The Mandarin. The film is also supported by Awkwafina (The Farewell), Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and comedian Ronny Chieng.
