Good News! Shang-Chi’s Director Tests Negative For Coronavirus After Self-Quarantine

Destin Daniel Cretton directing Just Mercy

In the last few days, there have been a lot of scary reports going around regarding notable individuals being tested for COVID-19, with Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Olga Kurylenko, and Kristofer Hivju all sadly receiving positive results. It's created a good amount of fear all around the world, but to bring some good news into the mix, it's now been revealed that director Destin Daniel Cretton has been given the all-clear following potential exposure last week.

The Shang Chi And The Legend of The Ten Rings director has been tested for COVID-19, and today he took to Instagram to tell his fans that the results came back negative. Posting a picture of his newborn, the filmmaker wrote a long caption detailing the experience that he's had in the last few days:

Last Friday, I decided to be tested for the Coronavirus. I was working in close proximity with some people who had potentially been exposed, and because Nik and I have a newborn at home, I wanted to be as safe as possible. During my weekend of isolation away from my family, I had a lot of time to ponder this interesting moment in history that our second child was born into, a time full of opinions and division, where scientific truths are debated and brushed off as political spins.

Continuing, Destin Daniel Cretton added that despite all of the negativity he was seeing, there was also a positive way to look at the current global circumstances:

But in the midst of this storm, while staring up at a spot on my hotel ceiling that I swear looked exactly like a bunny, I could see something really quite beautiful happening. People all around the world are beginning to realize how connected we are, how vulnerable we are, how much we need each other to survive.

Following this insight into his perspective on the world while waiting for some potentially terrifying test results, the filmmaker confirmed that he doesn't have COVID-19. That being said, he fully recognizes the incredible importance of vigilance at this time – both to protect oneself and those most vulnerable in our society.

I am happy to say that my test came back negative, but I will continue to be even more careful in the days ahead. Because if you believe in good science, and I do, we still have a mountain to climb together. No matter what you believe or how serious you think this problem is, please err on the side of safety and concern for those more vulnerable than you, and remember that having no symptoms doesn’t mean you’re not a carrier.

Destin Daniel Cretton closed his comment with a statement of both compassion and urgency:

Please stay hopeful, please stay humble, please stay home. Social distancing is an act of love for yourself, your family, and for every person on this planet. Sending all of you our love from Sydney, Australia.

As we have been in recent days, we here at CinemaBlend are wishing the best of luck to everyone both sick and simply in quarantine during these stressful times.

Hopefully it won't be too long until the world can get back to normal, and Destin Daniel Cretton can continue his extremely exciting work on the upcoming Shang Chi And The Legend of The Ten Rings, which began production shortly before the novel Coronavirus was announced as a pandemic. The movie is still currently slated to be released next year on February 12th.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.