Abomination, is that you?
Marvel’s Phase 4 is a new world for the ongoing comic-based franchise. After spending the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe focusing mainly on white male superheroes, Phase IV is deliberately embracing a more diverse pantheon. That includes the full set of Eternals characters coming in November of 2021, as well as Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which will arrive ahead of it in September.
Marvel isn't just diversifying in front of the camera. Shang-Chi is helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the Asian American director behind such films as The Glass Castle and the Michael B. Jordan vehicle Just Mercy. The upcoming movie also stars rising Canadian Chinese star Simu Liu as Marvel's first on-screen Asian superhero to lead his own film.
Filming for Shang-Chi had only just gotten underway in Australia when the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down in early 2020. But after getting back to work, Shang-Chi finished principal photography in October 2020 and is now confirmed for a 2021 release. With new photos, a brand new trailer, and a September release date, the film has fans all kinds of excited for this new superhero to enter the Marvelverse.
But what can fans expect from Shang-Chi once it arrives? Let's run down everything we know about the upcoming Marvel film:
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Plot Details
Marvel has been cagey about Shang-Chi's plot details, but fans have a good idea where the film is heading, based on the new trailer.
As a boy, Shang-Chi grew up under the tutelage of his father, unaware of his family's ties to organized crime and violence. But as a young man, he realized just how bad his father's work was. Rather than accept and join, he moved to the U.S. in an attempt to reject his past.
But as in all superhero origin stories, the past doesn't stay there. It's not long before Shang-Chi finds himself having to use his extensive years of martial arts training by his father to stay one step ahead of the bad guys and protect his found family.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Theories
Despite the confirmation that the film's new take on the Mandarin will be unrelated to all previous iterations, the film still hints at tie-backs to the Iron Man franchise.
The titular Ten Rings, for example, have been a running easter egg throughout the three phases of the Marvel Infinity saga, starting with the original Iron Man film. Fans have theorized this will form the initial set of callbacks throughout the Shang-Chi film, as every minor character who ever sported a Ten Rings tattoo throughout the series seems to be reported to be have a cameo.
The Iron Man connection has also given rise to the idea that Shang-Chi might have another cameo: War Machine. Marvel recently confirmed War Machine will star in his own Disney+ show, Armor Wars, but not until 2022 or 2023. Adding War Machine to Shang-Chi would help tie in the new character while keeping actor Don Cheadle involved in the Marvel universe in the meantime.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Premiere Date
In the initial schedule for Phase 4 released back in 2019, Shang-Chi was slated to take the slot where Black Panther did so well in 2018, President's Day weekend. That placed it after The Eternals in November but before Dr. Strange 2 in May.
The pandemic has since upended all that. After multiple moves that pushed back the entire Phase 4, Shang-Chi wound up with a release date between the original 2020 films of Black Widow and The Eternals. It was first scheduled to arrive as the big Independence Day holiday film on July 9. But the final shift of Black Widow has pushed it back once again to the beginning of September.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is slated to be an exclusively theatrical release, landing on Sept. 3, 2021.
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