Poor Death Dealer didn't fare particularly well in Shang-Chi in the Legend of the Ten Rings, but Razor Fist managed to make it through the credits for a tease that made it clear he has a bright future.
During the movie's final battle, the formidable henchman chose to work with Wenwu's daughter, Xialing, and was later shown right by her side after she reformed the Ten Rings in her image. When we caught up with actor Florian Munteanu to learn more about the launch of his Training Program, we asked for his thoughts on what leads to Razor Fist's big decision.
"I feel like he definitely sees that decision as the smartest thing to do," Florian explained. "The thing with him is that he has an unbreakable loyalty towards Wenwu, but if you look closely and remember the scene where Razor Fist comes into the room where Wenwu has all his books. He tells him the cars are ready and there’s a little glimpse and look he gives him where you can see a little doubt over the decisions Wenwu is making. He’s thinking, ‘Is this really the right thing to do? Is my boss still mentally clear? Does he know what he’s doing or is his fantasy playing tricks on him?’"
"When he realises in the battle that those demons are actually unbeatable, at least with the weapons the Ten Rings have, it’s not like he makes the decision against Wenwu," the actor confirmed. "He makes a decision for his soldiers and the army who are his brothers; he grew up with them and trained with them. It’s not like he would disobey, but in that case, it was the smartest thing to do, also because he had those doubts heading into it."
Ultimately, Wenwu falls in battle against the Dweller-in-Darkness, and that left a power vacuum in the Ten Rings his daughter was able to take advantage of. Shang-Chi's post-credits scene revealed that Xialing and Razor Fist look set to continue their newfound partnership, but where does Florian see the villain's story going next now that he has a new boss calling the shots?
"Obviously, end credits scenes in the Marvel Universe mean a lot and there are no coincidences in the MCU. We all know that, so that’s definitely a hint," he teased. "I feel like we know Xialing is the daughter of Wenwu, so it’s definitely that I’m now following a new leader as payback not only to honour what I always call his stepdad because, at the end of the day, Wenwu gave him a new life and purpose and a home. He trained him and took him away from the streets. She’s his daughter, so there’s more meaning to that than just following a new leader, but we’ll have to see what happens. I’m very excited about everything that comes. I can’t wait."
Intriguing, eh? There's certainly room to expand on this character's place in the MCU and depending on where the Ten Rings next appear, we're bound to see Razor Fist sent back into action.
Hopefully, more about Razor Fist's MCU future will be revealed soon, but you can hear much more from the actor in the video above (including how he felt to see the heroes trash Razor Fist's car).