'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' star Meng'er Zhang says the film is about family

By Danielle Long & Jason Nathanson

The wait for Marvel’s "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is almost over!

The film hits theaters for preview screenings Thursday but until then, Meng’er Zhang, who stars as Shang-Chi’s butt-kicking sister, gave ABC Audio a preview of what to expect.

"It's a film about family. It's a film about bond and love. We have a lot of drama, good comedy and countless breathtaking action sequences in it," the actress said. "And I mean, it's just it's unlike anything you have ever seen in the Marvel Universe, right?"

"Shang-Chi" is Marvel's first Asian superhero movie and Zhang wanted to avoid the typical stereotypes when it comes to Asian characters on screen.

Explaining that her character once had red extensions, Zhang said, "One day I read an article from Teen Vogue talking about how Asian female characters in Hollywood films, they always had some color in their hair to show that they're a rebel, to show that they can fight, to show that they are tough. And I don't want my character to follow that trend."

"So I called our director, Destin [Cretton], and asked him if we could take that out," she continued. "And just the next day we took it out."

Another first is that "Shang-Chi" is Zhang's first film and it's also the first time she's done martial arts training -- which is what might have contributed to her punching co-star Simu Liu in the face.

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident ... but I did enjoy it," she said with a laugh.