Fala Chen Dishes On Her With Fight Scene With Tony Leung In Shang-Chi - Exclusive

Marvel's newest release, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," begins with the character of Wenwu (Tony Leung) using the Ten Rings to conquer his foes with ease. He then hits his first major snag after learning about the hidden city of Ta-Lo. There, he meets Leiko (Fala Chen), a resident of Ta-Lo tasked with guarding the entrance — who is portrayed as being the first person to ever defeat him in battle, and definitely the first person to warm his icy heart. The battle itself is something of a tribute to wuxia films, with a superheroic twist. Leiko uses various martial arts forms to harness the power of the elements, all while exchanging affectionate glances with Wenwu. It's part fight, part dance, part courtship, and kicks off the movie in style. 

Looper spoke with Fala Chen, who outlined how the fight scene came together — and how much of it was planned before she even arrived on set.

"That was actually well planned way before we even started our training," Chen explained to Looper. "I was amazed. I've never been in a production where they've already had the choreographers and the stunt doubles film the whole scene with real rigs and real special effects." A version of the scene was already in the can before she even arrived. As such, they were able to show her what she had to learn — and she was amazed with the results.

"Then we went into the basic stands and the Tai Chi forms for my character," she continued. "Just started with basic training for over a month before we started shooting that scene. So I had plenty of time to really learn the whole spirit of Tai Chi, the kind of the philosophy behind the Tai Chi form. But also just like the very specific precise movement and knowing exactly what frame they would shoot it." 

All this rehearsal meant that it wasn't particularly stressful to make the scene. It took several weeks for it all to come together.

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is in theaters now.