The director of the major multimillion-dollar film holed up in a back room for months at the start of this year, taking trips to Pukalani Superette or Fukushima Store for food. Zoom video meetings with the head of Marvel often caught his grandfather off-guard.

“I would see in the window behind me — my grandpa would just walk by and be like, ‘Who’s that?'” he said Wednesday night, laughing.

Tributes to generations of family, to identity and to other core values of Asians near and far are some of the themes Cretton said will resonate with Maui and Hawaii viewers of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which opens nationwide today.

“I hope people on Maui and all across Hawaii, Asian Americans, I hope that when you watch this movie you feel seen — I hope you feel a reflection of some of the traditions we all share, some of the core values we share, of family, of legacy and paying respect to those who came before us to get us to where we are today,” he said via live video during a private screening at Consolidated Theatres Ka’ahumanu on Wednesday night.

Maui native and director Destin Daniel Cretton (from left), fight instructor Alan Tang, a crew camera operator and Simu Liu are shown on the set of Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” MARVEL STUDIOS photo

Asian family bonds are some of the things that stayed with Wailuku resident Joe Abraham, a website and game developer who’s also Cretton’s former roommate.

“I think it has a high level of re-watchability,” he said Thursday. “It’s a very meaty plot with a lot of intense ideas that have not been really seen in a hundred-million-dollar-plus movie. Usually they vanilla it down.”

“There was so much to think about — even when you see the grandma . . . who is so endearing,” he added. “It made me think of (Destin’s) grandma.”

The movie, led largely by Asian American cast and crew, centers on trained assassin Shang-Chi, who’s trying to live an ordinary life in San Francisco. He’s soon confronted by his past when the mysterious Ten Rings organization, led by Shang-Chi’s estranged father, draws him into a web of decisions with epic consequences.

Chinese American Dave Callaham of DC Warner Bros’ “Wonder Woman 1984” and Sony’s animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2” wrote the screenplay, along with Cretton and Andrew Lanham.

Maui resident Kihei Burgess heads toward the big screen when he sees his friend, Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” appear on a live videoconference from Los Angeles after a private screening of the new Asian-led superhero film on Wednesday night at Consolidated Theatres Ka‘ahumanu. The film opens nationwide today. The Maui News / KEHAULANI CERIZO photo

Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu, comedian-actress-rapper Awkwafina and comedian Ronny Chieng star in the PG-13 fantasy/action flick, which is already generating critic and viewer praise.

“The highly anticipated movie has all the bells and whistles of a Marvel tentpole — huge fight sequences, dizzying stunts and sweeping locales,” The Associated Press said. “The original comic book was inspired by the popular ’70s kung fu films. It pays homage to those but also strives to bring humanity outside of the action.”

After a worldwide search for a director, Marvel Studios producer Jonathan Schwartz called Cretton, who was working on critically acclaimed “Just Mercy” starring Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson and Michael B. Jordan.

Cretton said in a Marvel press release that he didn’t think he would get the job, but he offered a personal pitch.

“Growing up, my friends were mainly Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan,” he said. “In Hawaii, you’re part of the majority if you are Asian. When I went to the mainland USA for the first time, it was the first time I felt out of place. It was the first time that somebody at a bar came up to me and called me Bruce Lee. I realized, ‘Oh yeah, I’m different here.'”

That resonated with Marvel and would form part of Shang-Chi’s journey.

“Marvel responded strongly to his take on what the film could be, and Cretton was brought on board,” the news release said.

Cretton learned to film at age 10 when his mom reluctantly let him use his grandmother’s camcorder. Brothers and sisters served as cast and crew. The sprawling Haiku outdoors and humble home indoors had all the stages and sets the kids could want.

Cretton, who graduated from Maui High School in 1996, started generating film festival acclaim during his college years. He received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Point Loma Nazarene University, then went on to attend film school at San Diego State University.

Directorial highlights include “The Glass Castle” and award-winning “Short Term 12.”

Cretton said he was home not long ago for his grandmother’s funeral. He expressed gratitude for the time he was able to spend with her at the start of this year, and mentioned he added her name to the film’s credits.

When asked to disclose Marvel Easter eggs — hidden messages or images often found in certain films or games — Cretton offered one.

“There is an Easter egg that would be very hard to find,” he said. “It’s a tag that was spray-painted onto one of the walls of the fight club. It’s just a heart with my grandparents’ Japanese names in it. That’s my favorite Easter egg.”

Cretton said he and family plan to return from Los Angeles to Maui for a trip in November.

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.