Shang-Chi 2, TV series both green-lit as MCU continues expansion

Some spoilers for the first Shang-Chi movie ahead. Please read carefully. if you haven’t seen the film yet.

Shang-Chi 2 will actually become a thing as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

This rather unsurprising news comes from Deadline, though there is also an MCU series (which is rumored to be a Shang-Chi TV series) coming to Disney Plus as well, which is slightly unexpected.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Daniel Destin Cretton will be directing Shang-Chi 2 as well, which is part of a larger development deal with Marvel Studio’s and Hulu’s Onyx Collective, and while the TV series isn’t explicitly confirmed to be following Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) or related characters, it seems almost a lock.

“Destin is an amazing collaborator who brought a unique perspective and skill to Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,” Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president and chief creative officer, said in a press release. “We had a fantastic time working together on the film and he has so many intriguing ideas for stories to bring to life on Disney Plus, so we’re thrilled to expand our relationship with him and can’t wait to get started.”

Shang-Chi 2 and potentially related TV series officially green-lit

Set partially in post-Blip 2024 San Francisco, Shang-Chi was the first MCU movie to solely release in theaters since Spider-Man: Far From Home in July 2019, due to the pandemic.

Shang-Chi (Limu) is the son of an assassin named Wenwu, who is the actual Mandarin, head of the Ten Rings terrorist organization. After teaming up with his estranged sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), Shang-Chi and Katy end up in a magical land in a fight against mythological dragon-like creatures.

In the post-credits scenes, Wong (Benedict Wong) has promoted Shang-Chi to an Avenger (and presumably Katy as high-level sidekick) to the point where they have video calls with Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), while Xialing assumes command of her father’s vast organization.

Where things go form here is left to the imagination, though with centuries of Chinese mythology and world history to comb through, the resulting stories will likely be very satisfying, in addition to furthering the diversity and inclusion efforts as the culture of the MCU world is expanded.

“Working on Shang-Chi with Kevin and the Marvel Studios team was one of the highlights of my life, and I couldn’t be more excited about Tara’s vision for Onyx Collective,” Cretton said in a press release. “I can’t wait to explore new stories and build new worlds with this community.”

A release date for both Shang-Chi 2 and the TV series has yet to be announced.