Simu Liu's Shang-Chi will likely appear in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies, but a recent rumor claimed that the Master of Kung-Fu was originally going to play a major role in The Kang Dynasty prior to the project being revamped.
According to Inverse, "in the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would've been one of the film's main leads."
With Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm, it wouldn't have been a major surprise if Shang-Chi was a significant part of the plot, and Jeff Sneider has heard that The Kang Dynasty would have "essentially served" as a Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel before Marvel was forced to pivot after Jonathan Majors' firing.
What exactly this would have entailed is not clear, but we assume at least some of the bigger story points from Legend of the Ten Rings would have carried over, leading to Shang-Chi and other heroes (obviously) facing-off against Kang the Conqueror and his Variants.
Cretton recently boarded Spider-Man 4, leaving the status of the actual Shang-Chi 2 (which is still in development... for now) uncertain. Sneider's co-host, John Rocha, has also heard that MJ will not have a huge role in the No Way Home follow-up due to Zendaya's busy schedule.
We got word during this year's San Diego Comic-Con that the next Avengers movie is now titled Avengers: Doomsday, with Tony Stark actor Robert Downey Jr. set to make his MCU return as Victor Von Doom.
Shang-Chi could still factor into the film, of course, but it sounds like his role may have been significantly reduced.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
What do you make of these latest rumors? Let us know in the comments section down below.