Simu Liu is the only actor so far to be confirmed as returning in Marvel Studios’ second Shang-Chi movie—which makes sense given that he is, you know, the title character. It’s unclear at this point whether his co-stars from the first film—Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang et al—will be reprising their roles. But we do know that the next time we see Liu, whether that’s in the upcoming sequel tentatively entitled Shang-Chi and the Wreckage of Time or another movie, it will be alongside some of his other MCU superheroes.
At least two of them, to be exact, if we’re to take Liu’s words in a recent interview with People literally.
“I’m such a big fan of both the characters and the performers that play them, so any collaboration is an opportunity for me to work alongside someone who, in their own way, is breaking barriers and at the very top of their game,” he said. “I think that’s what excites me the most as a performer, also as a fan… And who knows, they might see something sooner than you think… We’ll see.”
While Shang-Chi was a largely standalone origin story for Liu’s character, it did include a couple of cameos from well-known figures in order to connect Shang-Chi with the wider universe: most prominently, the sorcerer supreme Wong, played by Benedict Wong, who is shown in a prize-fight with the Abomination (Tim Roth), a subplot that dovetails directly with the recent Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
A mid-credits scene from the first movie also introduces Shang-Chi and Katy to Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), albeit in hologram form. That sequence definitely ends on the implication that these heroes will all continue to work together in the future, meaning they could be who Liu was talking about.
Then again, it has also been speculated that Shang-Chi will somehow encounter multiple variants of Kang the Conqueror now that they have been officially brought into the MCU.
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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