This article contains major spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
With Phase 4 fully underway, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is bigger than ever. And with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings now in theaters, there’s plenty of new characters taking the spotlight of the MCU.
While all the previous Phase 4 projects like WandaVision, Black Widow, and Loki have all focused on established Marvel characters who are familiar to longtime fans, Shang-Chi introduces a new hero with his own supporting cast. The titular hero, his best friend Katy, and his sister Xialing all make their first MCU appearances in this film — and judging by the reaction from fans and critics alike, they seem to be popular with audiences already. However, though most of its characters are new faces, that doesn’t mean that nobody in Shang-Chi is familiar to Marvel fans.
The film features cameo appearances from Wong, Doctor Strange’s right-hand man, as well as Abomination, the villain of The Incredible Hulk. But while their appearance in the film generated plenty of buzz when they were shown in one of the trailers, their role in the movie itself is ultimately a brief one. There are also some cameos from Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers in the film’s mid-credits scene, but while their appearance was certainly welcome, major characters appearing after the credits is nothing new in the MCU by now. However, there is one other familiar face in Shang-Chi that fans weren’t expecting to see.
It’s common knowledge by now that the main antagonist of Shang-Chi — the title character’s father, Xu Wenwu — is in fact, the true identity of the Mandarin, leader of the Ten Rings organization. This naturally gives Wenwu close ties to the Iron Man films, since he controls the very same group that captured Tony Stark in the original Iron Man movie, making him indirectly responsible for Iron Man’s origin story. During the dinner scene, Wenwu even references the incident where an American CEO framed him and his organization for a series of terrorist attacks, using an impostor named “the Mandarin” as a scapegoat.
This story is, of course, a reference to the events of Iron Man 3, which would supposedly feature Tony Stark facing off against his comic book arch-nemesis, the Mandarin. But in the film, it was revealed that the so-called Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) was actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who was just a pawn of the film’s real villain Aldrich Killian. This twist was controversial among fans — some loved the shocking reveal and enjoyed Kingsley’s performance as the bumbling actor, while others were disappointed that they were robbed of a proper showdown between Iron Man and the Mandarin.
Trevor’s only other MCU appearance since then was in All Hail the King, a 2014 short film released on home video with Thor: The Dark World as part of the now-defunct Marvel One-Shots series. At the end of the short, Trevor is broken out of prison by a Ten Rings operative, who says he was sent to take Trevor to the true Mandarin — a character whose existence wasn’t even hinted at until that moment. But of course, the MCU continued to progress without any sign of an appearance by this true Mandarin, and this plot thread was thought to be forgotten by Marvel Studios.
But then, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was announced, sparking plenty of fan theories over whether the film would contain any nods to the Iron Man series. Sure enough, Wenwu addresses the false Mandarin, revealing that the title itself was made up to begin with and laughing over the fact that the American media was so terrified of a villain named after “a chicken dish and an orange.” At first, it seems like that scene is the only nod to the Iron Man 3 Mandarin in the film, included only as a token reference to satisfy longtime fans. But as it’s soon revealed, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Later in the film, as Shang-Chi and Katy attempt to escape their imprisonment in Wenwu’s compound, they happen upon another captive of the Ten Rings — Trevor Slattery himself, played once again by Ben Kingsley. Just as the end of All Hail the King implied, Trevor was indeed taken prisoner by Wenwu, and has been locked up with a magical creature named Morris ever since. After seven years, Trevor Slattery, a character long thought forgotten by Marvel fans, makes his triumphant return to the MCU, and he’s weirder than ever.
And Trevor’s reappearance is no mere cameo either — he joins Shang-Chi’s party on their quest to the mystical village of Ta Lo, and even plays a crucial role in helping them find their way there. He sticks around for the film’s third act as well, though he chooses to play dead instead of taking part in the final battle with the Ten Rings and the Dweller-in-Darkness. But curiously, he doesn’t make an appearance in the conclusion of the movie, leaving what’s become of him now as a mystery.
It’s possible that Trevor Slattery will show up again soon in the MCU — perhaps in an eventual Shang-Chi sequel, or even in the War Machine-focused Armor Wars series on Disney Plus. But as of now, what the future holds for the false Mandarin is a mystery. Even so, the fact that he reappeared in Shang-Chi at all is a testament to the MCU’s commitment to maintaining continuity and making the most of all its characters. Even a seemingly forgotten character can show up when you least expect it.