Shang-Chi Timeline Revealed. Hawkeye Could Appear:
Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings is another new property that Marvel is bringing to the MCU. Phase 4 is all about embracing the new, and that’s what this film will do. For the first time, we’d be seeing an Asian Superhero make his way into the MCU, as Simu Liu will portray Shang-Chi. But the big deal about this film is that Marvel will finally show us the real Mandarin. We do have a few questions about the film as we don’t know how much it will interact with the rest of the MCU, and when will the movie actually take place.
According to a Marvel leak brought forward by The Cosmic Wonder, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings will take place after Infinity War, but before Endgame. This means this story will be unravel somewhere between the 5 year time jump of Endgame after Infinity War. It also means that Shang-Chi could be affected by Thanos’ snap as he could have lost his loved ones. Perhaps Thanos’ snap is what might bring Shang-Chi and the Mandaring at odds. The leak further stated that the film will have only a little connection to the MCU.
It’s just great that we’d finally be seeing the real Mandarin step into the picture. It was a cool twist to see Iron Man 3 use the Mandarin’s alias as a stage name. But the fans just couldn’t take the fact that Iron Man’s most iconic villain was turned into a disguise covering the real intentions of Aldrich Killian. This later called for Marvel’s One Shot film, All Hail the King which revealed that the real Mandarin actually exists and he is pissed that his identity was used by someone else.
Perhaps we could see ben Kingsley return in the film. And Scoot McNairy may also be in the movie since he played a role in telling the world that the real Mandarin is still out there. Although, this film will be very Asian based, and connections to the larger MCU may be very subtle. Although, one little connection that could be made in the film is that Hawkeye may actually appear at some point of time.
Clint Barton took the mantle of Ronin and became an assassin passing his own judgement all over the world. A big part of him becoming the cold blooded murderer was Asia. So, perhaps Marvel might toss him in somewhere in the film. It could just be a news headline about a mass-vigilante in the Asian territory that Shang-Chi is present in, or perhaps Jeremy Renner could make a cameo. We’d have to wait in order to find out.
All of the above should be taken as a grain of salt because none of it comes from an official source. It is entirely possible that Shang-Chi takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The Mandarin just might survive this film because a Thunderbolts project is rumored to be in development. The Thunderbolts are said to be fighting The Leader. Perhaps the leader of the 10 Rings & the Leader could work together in the future. Again, it’s all just a mere hearsay. We’ll have to wait and see what really happens in the film. We’d have more details as we approach the next year.
Marvel’s future is huge and there’s a lot that could happen. But until further news updates, here’s how the Phase 4 slate looks for now –
Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If? In Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021. Following these are Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk. Black Panther 2 is also scheduled for May 6, 2022.
