Insider Comments on Shang-Chi’s MCU Future: Avengers Role, Sequel Updates, and What’s Ahead in Phase 7

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ was a surprise hit for Marvel. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the movie stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who confronts his past when his father, Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings, pulls him and his sister Xialing into a quest for a magical village. The film also features Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung.

In December 2021, work began on a sequel, with Cretton returning as writer and director. Simu Liu was set to reprise his role and expressed interest in exploring Shang-Chi’s “newfound power” with the Ten Rings and his place in the larger Marvel universe.

By July 2023, Liu shared that the timeline for the sequel was unclear. In November, Cretton stepped down from directing ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ to focus on the ‘Shang-Chi’ sequel, which is expected to begin filming in March 2025.

We know that Shang-Chi is going to be one of the main characters in the upcoming animated miniseries ‘Marvel Zombies,’ but beyond that? Nothing has been confirmed so far but industry insider Alex Perez shed some light on his future via his December Discord AMA.

Perez has teased the idea of a new Avengers team that includes Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and Wong. This lineup is unexpected, and Perez hints at the mystery surrounding the absence of other notable characters like Sam Wilson, Bucky, Ant-Man, and the Thunderbolts.

He suggests that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ will explore why these characters aren’t part of the new team and address the broader implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s main timeline (Earth-616). Perez also implies there will be tension when Sam Wilson discovers a new Avengers team has formed without him—especially one including Bucky, who was once seen as a villain.

Shang-Chi is going to be a part of the Avengers formed by Carol Danvers, Bruce Banner, & Wong. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because where is Sam? Where is Bucky? Where’s Ant-Man? Where are the Thunderbolts? That’s going to be a question Doomsday will answer in terms of problems for the 616. Because imagine how Sam’s going to react when he sees that there is an Avengers, but they’re composed of former villains and one of the members is Bucky. That’s going to be a very interesting scene to play out.

Perez also said that Destin Daniel Cretton has plans for a ‘Shang-Chi’ sequel, possibly involving the Atlas Foundation, but the delay isn’t related to ‘Avengers 5’ or ‘Spider-Man 4.’ It’s simply not the right time to move forward with the project yet.

I know Destin has ideas for a Shang-Chi sequel, one of which has to do with the Atlas Foundation. And it’s not really due to Avengers 5, or Spider-Man 4. It’s just not the right time yet.

This is strange considering that Ten Rings were rumored to be equally as important as Infinity Stones were in phases 1-3 along with Kamala’s Bangle.

As far as Shang-Chi’s future in the upcoming Saga goes, despite being focused on mutants, there will still be some space to explore other stories like Nova’s cosmic story, Midnight Sons’ magical story, and ultimately Shang-Chi:

Who said it was just gonna be about mutants? Sure, the main focus of the saga will be the introduction of the mutants, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing coming up. Just like the Multiverse Saga had other stories detached from the Multiverse, so does this next saga. It’s going to be a good saga for fans of the cosmic side of the MCU with Nova and Eternals. And there’s going to be a lot of fun supernatural stuff as well with the Midnight Sons.

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