Marvel's Shang-Chi Movie Just Got a Director

Welcome, once again, to The Monitor, WIRED's column devoted to the pop culture world. What's been happening this week? Well, aside from Captain Marvel's continued dominance, we've got an Oscar-winning documentary landing on Hulu and some good news for Marvel's first Asian American-led movie. Strap in, it’s gonna be a bumpy (but fun!) ride.

Marvel's Shang-Chi Movie Has a Director

All the hype right now might be about Marvel's first female-lead movie Captain Marvel, but that doesn't mean that's the only comic-book movie news worth talking about. In fact, word has just emerged that the studio has hired Destin Daniel Cretton to direct Shang-Chi, Marvel’s first superhero movie with an Asian lead. If you don’t immediately recognize the name, Cretton is the director behind Short Term 12, an indie flick about a group home for teenagers that coincidentally starred Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson. See? It's all coming full circle.

Hulu Lands and Oscar-Winning Doc

Good news for people sad they hadn't seen Free Solo before it won Best Documentary at this year's Oscars: Hulu just picked up the film and is now offering it to stream. The movie, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and photographer Jimmy Chin, follows solo climber Alex Honnold as he attempts to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park sans rope. Yes, it's a nail-biter.

Captain Marvel Will Dominate for a Second Weekend

Not content with the half-billion in US dollars it's already pocketed, Captain Marvel is projected to snag everyone's last coin again this weekend. Though the movie likely won't pull in the $455 million made in its worldwide debut, the movie is still projected to earn another $70 million to $85 million. Not too shabby.