While MCU fans may never understand the full extent to which Bob Iger‘s return to Disney changed the charted course of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga, it seems more can be gleaned about it each week. When Marvel Studios used the Summer convention season to promote its 2025 slates of theatrical and streaming projects and made no mention of what 2026 and beyond would bring beyond what was already known, deductive reasoning led to some speculation that not even the Marvel Studios Parliament knew exactly what was next.
In the weeks that have followed, it’s become increasingly clear that the studio’s plans are still in flux, though recent developments suggest that things are starting to come together behind the scenes. Shortly after rumors emerged that projects such as Armor Wars, Blade and a Shang-Chi sequel were in limbo, trade reports came in that revealed Destin Daniel Cretton was in talks to direct Spider-Man 4. Cretton taking on the latest installment in the Spidey franchise effectively pressed pause on the Shang-Chi sequel, a project that star Simu Liu recently confirmed was in development, promising that “it’s definitely happening.“
I think just what Shaun decides to do with all this newfound power, you know? It kind of consumed his father, consumed Wenwu. I’m curious as to how someone much younger, much more inexperienced, would fare against the rings. Just this idea of all of a sudden being gifted something that’s so powerful but also so dangerous. And then the other big question I have is, you know, in what way does Shaun fit in with the rest of the MCU? Who are you going to see? What kind of crazy team-ups? What kinda tie-ins, Easter eggs? I’m just as much in the dark as everyone else, so I don’t know anything, but I’m excited to dive into that process.
-Simu Liu on a potential Shang-Chi sequel
While nobody doubts that Liu believes that a sequel to one of the studio’s most critically successful films in the Multiverse Saga will be made eventually, it’s starting to become clear that there’s a reason he also mentioned that he “really can’t say anything” further about the project. However, as it turns out, the Shang-Chi sequel may have actually been delayed far longer ago than any of us knew.
According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, the original plan for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was for it to have “essentially served” as a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While fans knee-jerk reaction may be to balk at the news, it does mesh with the recent report from Inverse that Shang-Chi was originally intended to have a major role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before the project was “retooled.”
In the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.
-Inverse
Given that Cretton was originally picked to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, it’s certainly not too difficult to believe that Shang-Chi was meant to be one of the film’s leads. Additionally, despite the nebulous nature of that film’s post-credit scene, it’s similarly easy to believe that it could have dovetailed into a confrontation with Kang in the fifth Avengers film. Unfortunately, Jonathan Majors‘ legal troubles and the uneven fan reception to Kang’s role in the Multiverse Saga led to Cretton leaving his post as director of The Kang Dynasty which means that while we may still get a great film in Avengers: Doomsday, we’ll likely never know exactly what was planned for Liu’s wonderful new MCU hero.
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