Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first movie with an Asian lead, is getting a sequel, Deadline reports.
According to the outlet, Director
Destin Daniel Cretton has signed on for a follow-up film, as well as an MCU series on Disney+, thanks to his new deal with Marvel Studios and Hulu’s Onyx Collective. The news comes just three months after Shang-Chi premiered in theaters and broke Labor Day box office records. The film, which stars Simu Liu in the titular hero role, began streaming on Nov. 12.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige had high praise for Cretton. “Destin is an amazing collaborator who brought a unique perspective and skill to Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,” he said in a statement. “We had a fantastic time working together on the film and he has so many intriguing ideas for stories to bring to life on Disney+, so we’re thrilled to expand our relationship with him and can’t wait to get started.”
Here’s what could lie ahead for Shang-Chi's sequel.
Who's in the cast?
It’s safe to say Liu will return in the lead role. He even joked of the news on Twitter, “Flopped so hard we got a sequel!!”
The rest of the cast, however, remains unconfirmed. It’s possible we’ll see more of Awkwafina’s Katy, Shang-Chi’s best friend-turned-love interest. Same goes for Meng’er Zhang, who plays Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing and was the focus of one of the end credit scenes.
It’s unclear if we’ll see Tony Leung or Fala Chen, who played Shang-Chi’s parents, in any flashback scenes, or Michelle Yeoh, who played Shang-Chi’s aunt Ying Nan. But our fingers are tightly crossed.
What will it be about?
Cretton is both directing and writing the script, but it’s still too early for exact plot details. We can look at the end credit scenes for potential clues, though.
The first scene revealed that there's a “beacon” deep inside the ten rings and it’s sending a message to an unknown location and receiver. Shang-Chi, Katy, Wong, Bruce Banner, and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel discussed that the rings were more than a thousand years old and were not made of vibranium or alien tech. Could the follow-up dig into the rings’ origin and the information they’re transmitting?
The second scene focused on Xialing, who was supposed to be shutting down her and Shang-Chi’s father’s Ten Rings organization but instead takes over and revamps it (this time including women warriors). Maybe the sequel will explore what she does with the secret operation, too.
Stay tuned for updates.
Watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings