Disney is all in with Destin Daniel Cretton. The co-writer and director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has just signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Marvel Studios and Hulu’s Onyx Collective which includes a sequel to Shang-Chi as well as programming for Disney+.
“Destin is an amazing collaborator who brought a unique perspective and skill to Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. We had a fantastic time working together on the film and he has so many intriguing ideas for stories to bring to life on Disney+, so we’re thrilled to expand our relationship with him and can’t wait to get started,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in a statement to Deadline, which broke the news.
In addition to that, Cretton will be developing stories “that highlight the experiences of communities that have traditionally been overlooked by pop culture,” according to the trade. “Working on Shang-Chi with Kevin and the Marvel Studios team was one of the highlights of my life, and I couldn’t be more excited about Tara [Duncan, President, Freeform & Onyx Collective] vision for Onyx Collective. I can’t wait to explore new stories and build new worlds with this community,” Cretton said.
After Shang-Chi, Cretton had already began working with Disney+ on an adaptation of American Born Chinese, a 2006 graphic novel written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang. It follows a teenager who becomes involved in a battle of Chinese mythological gods, and Cretton will direct and executive produce. There’s no news on when that show, or any of these other projects, will end up happening, but they are happening under the watch of one of the most talented filmmakers working today. If you’ve never seen Cretton’s earlier film Short Term 12, do that now — it’s not a superhero movie, but it’s an outstanding drama, and the excellent cast includes Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Lakeith Stanfield, Kaitlyn Dever, and Rami Malek.