Post-Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi, turned out to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best efforts. Even though it was released in that weird “are we still in the pandemic and is it safe to go out?” period of 2021, the film made over $400 million worldwide. It also convinced Marvel Studios of director Destin Daniel Cretton’s talents, and he’s since gone on to helm Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Despite all the positives, Liu’s Shang-Chi has been mostly absent from the MCU – apart from an appearance on the animated show Marvel Zombies and a now-confirmed spot in Avengers: Doomsday. It’s a win for Shang-Chi fans to see him back, of course, but one can’t shake off the feeling that Marvel Studios lacks faith in the character. It certainly seems to ignore him at every possible opportunity.
On Threads, a user posted a screenshot of Disney+’s suggested watchlist before Avengers: Doomsday. Said poster pointed out that both Deadpool & Wolverine and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were missing from the recommendation list, which is odd in Shang-Chi’s case since he features in the trailer. Oh, but there certainly was space for the awful Thor: Love and Thunder here, which might be one of the worst Marvel movies of all time. Responding to the thread about his movie being missing on this list, Liu wrote, “Typical.”
While it’s difficult to determine what tone and intent Liu’s comment should be taken in here, this isn’t the first time he’s reacted to a post pointing out Marvel’s treatment of his character. On X, he posted the eyes emoji and quoted another user who wrote, “Marvel remembered they made a Shang-Chi movie.” He’s also reported to have liked a TikTok comment saying that “Marvel did him dirty” by delaying a sequel.
While there’s no doubt that the MCU has taken a more conservative approach in the rollout of its films and TV shows than before, it’s surprising how much time it has wasted with an almost-universally beloved character like Shang-Chi. To put it into context, we have seen three live-action versions of Superman and Jared Leto has been given three more franchises to screw up since Liu last played his character in a movie. Are you saying that the MCU couldn’t find a single show or film for him to appear in during this time? Is he in witness protection or what?
At least there’s some reprieve in knowing he’ll be in Avengers: Doomsday, so there’s that to look forward to. Also, Liu stated that Shang-Chi 2 is coming, but when is anybody’s guess because it’s pointless to believe anything will definitively happen until it’s in production. Maybe it’s like Mahershala Ali’s Blade movie where we can reverse the popular internet joke and say that we’ll get GTA 6 before it.
RELATED: 9 Marvel Gods More Powerful Than Thor — Including the One He Calls On In Doomsday
