Avengers: Doomsday will put the spotlight on characters from the MCU's past, present, and—possibly—future. Some of the movie's leads were seen fairly recently, while others have been absent from our screens for several years.
Simu Liu's Shang-Chi falls into the latter category. The Master of the Martial Arts has been sidelined since Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released in 2021, but Avengers: Doomsday will allow him to finally step back into the spotlight (likely as a member of Captain America's Avengers).
During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Liu was asked how his MCU character has evolved, given that it will be more than half a decade since we last saw him in action by this December.
"I think time. He’s older. I think I’m older, so getting to bring a little bit more of a quality of self-assurance is always great, especially because Shang was such a fish out of water," the actor shared. "There’s a little bit of a jump in time, so I think we’ll meet him at a place where he’s feeling a little more lived in with who he is and his responsibilities."
Cautious about giving too much away, Liu explained why he's watching what he says when it comes to Avengers: Doomsday. "I never know when something I say is going to get picked up into a soundbite," he noted. "I think I was freezing cold on the rooftop of the Empire State Building, and they were like, 'What about his costume?' And I was like, 'Oh, it’s new.'"
"It just became an unstoppable maelstrom of messed-up lines," Liu continued. "I am very reserved about what to say about it now."
Even after four teaser trailers, fans are eager for any new bit of intel they can get about Avengers: Doomsday, so it's hardly surprising that whatever the movie's cast says is receiving so much attention. As we're sure you'll remember, Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming got into trouble with Marvel Studios just for hinting at a battle between his teleporting mutant and Pedro Pascal's Mister Fantastic.
A Shang-Chi sequel doesn't appear to be a major priority for Marvel Studios, and it seems likely that the character will be relegated to being a supporting player in future MCU projects. In 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings grossed $432 million worldwide, a notable achievement considering moviegoers were still hesitant to return to theatres due to the pandemic.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.