Marvel and Barbie star Simu Liu has insisted once again that a Shang-Chi sequel will happen — and given a first confirmation he’ll return after Avengers: Doomsday for its sequel, Secret Wars.
It’s now been five years since Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings launched to a warm reception back in 2021, and left fans keen to see more of the character. But despite enthusiasm from fans and Liu alike, no sequel has yet materialized, leaving the character’s live-action return shelved until this December’s Avengers: Doomsday.
Speaking to People, Liu has once again said that a Shang-Chi sequel will happen — despite no word from Marvel itself to make this official. On the upside, however, Liu’s confirmation he’s back for Avengers: Secret Wars seems to suggest he’ll be one of the heroes to survive Doomsday’s events.
“There’s not a whole lot to tease right now, other than I think, I sound like a broken record at this point, but it is happening,” Liu said of Shang-Chi 2. “But I think the more immediate tease is of course, is Doomsday… which I was lucky enough to be a part of and will be lucky enough to be a part of its successor in Secret Wars.”
While Liu has returned to voice Shang-Chi in the animated Marvel series What If? and Marvel Zombies, fans have not even seen a cameo appearance of the character in live-action for nearly half a decade, through a phase of Marvel movies. It’s something that has disappointed many following the ending to Shang-Chi, which saw him essentially called up to join the Avengers following a FaceTime call with Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers.
Back in 2021, Shang-Chi writer and director Destin Daniel Cretton told IGN he had already begun work on Shang-Chi 2, as well as a spin-off TV series that could potentially explore some of the plot threads left hanging by the first film. “There are some obvious doors that were opened by the end of Shang-Chi that may allow us to go into those worlds and explore them more,” the director said. “And that would be a really cool one to explore because Ta Lo is way more vast than what we saw in Shang-Chi. So that’s potentially one area that we may go, but I’m not sure.”
But in 2023, Liu admitted the project had been delayed — with Marvel’s priority now getting its new Avengers movies out the door first. After so long off-screen, Shang-Chi’s appearance in Avengers may boost the success of his eventual sequel. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that Shang-Chi 2 is still a long way away, if it ever happens.
Marvel is busy right now with Avengers: Doomsday, due this December, and then Avengers: Secret Wars, due December 2027. After that, the company has already confirmed it’s working on an X-Men reboot and Black Panther 3, which are expected to launch in 2028 at the earliest.
Complicating matters further is the fact that Cretton was chosen to direct Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Principal filming on that project has now been completed, but some fans believe Marvel and Sony may be keen to keep the filmaker working on further Spider-Man sequels, after Tom Holland’s first trilogy was helmed from start to finish by Jon Watts. When could we see Shang-Chi 2? It seems unlikely before the end of this decade, at the earliest.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
