The following article contains spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Shang-Chi officially kicked off current day Phase Four for Marvel Studios, at least when it comes to cinemas, and producers really wanted viewers to leave the theater with that same epic cliffhanger sensation that MCU fans are used to.
The Marvel Studios movie has not one but two teasers ready once the credits start to roll, each one taking a look at just where the MCU stands right now both in the context of Shang-Chi's own family affairs and his role in future Avengers movies. Due to the interconnected nature of almost every MCU production out there, the mid-credits scene has generated a ton of buzz regarding the origins of Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings, which is completely unknown to Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and Wong.
Rest assured, this is by no means an accident, as producer Jonathan Schwartz recently discussed in a Marvel exclusive that it was crucial to say that Shang-Chi is formally inside the Avengers’ club. “That was the goal, and then it came down to who are the right characters to put Shang-Chi in touch with to say, ‘Yes he's one of them, he's part of this thing,” Schwartz said. As to why they chose that particular set of characters for such a crucial moment, they simply went with whoever they felt was right and also fit the current flow of events in the MCU.
In that sense, Schwartz called Wong the “gateway” for what’s to follow these events, which could somehow be tied to the sorcerer's role in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the subsequent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Even actor Simu Liu compared the moment Wong formally recruits Shang-Chi and Katy to when he finally got the call up to play the character.
Although both post-credits scenes may be subdued in terms of hype, at least by MCU standards, that has not stopped Shang-Chi from becoming the most popular Marvel movie of all time, as audiences continue showing their love for a character very few people knew about until recently. After all, Shang-Chi rebuilds the famed comic book character from his old stereotypical past and even saves the Mandarin from his controversial Iron Man incarnation.
Pack all of that with a newly discovered Shang-Chi brand of action for the MCU and it’s clear why the movie has been such a hit. As Shang-Chi heads towards its second weekend, it will be interesting to if the worldwide box office sees a drop similar to Black Widow or if this is exactly the hero Marvel and Disney needed.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now playing in theaters.
Source: marvel.com