Exclusive –Things are about to change for Shang-Chi and Katy ***Contains major spoilers***
New Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has finally come to cinemas, and it’s full of martial arts-fuelled family drama as its title character (played by Simu Liu) takes on his warlord father (Tony Leung) in a mystical battle to save the Earth.
But while the film does establish its own lore and magical rules, it is still a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and accordingly, the final scenes of the film firmly tie its lead characters (namely Liu’s Shang-Chi and Awkwafina’s Katy) into the wider Marvel milieu by introducing them to key characters from elsewhere in the franchise.
Suffice to say, the MCU newcomers were pretty excited.
“There’s so much possibility for the exploration of other things, and also kind of the rules of Shang-Chi’s world, and how it kind of fits into the larger universe,” Awkwafina exclusively told RadioTimes.com.
“Yeah, it’s very cool.”
From hereon out, we’ll be delving into spoiler territory for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so look away now if you haven’t seen the film.
Specifically, Shang and Katy are introduced (during a post-credits scene) to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), with Benedict Wong’s sorcerer Wong explaining that the titular Ten Rings (bands of power taken from Wenwu) have started sending a mysterious “beacon” into the universe, with unknown effects.
At the close of the film, the super-powered trio unofficially welcome Shang and Katy to the Avengers’ orbit (or, as Bruce calls it, “the circus”), and it seems clear that the pair will play a crucial role in whatever Phase Four plan Marvel are currently working on in the wake of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
“I can’t wait to see the screwballs that are Shang and Katy interacting with the other MCU people,” Liu exclusively told RadioTimes.com. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”
“I think it [will] be so cool to just be able to step into that world,” agreed Awkwafina.
!["Shang-Chi"]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/08/Shaun-and-Katy-5dbcb36.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Shaun")
“Without giving away too much, I think there’s an integral character that kind of links all that. It’s really, really cool that we got to work with him, too.”
Whether this story will continue in a potential Shang-Chi sequel, the next Captain Marvel movie The Marvels or somewhere else (maybe the Eternals movie in November, or Spider-Man: No Way Home the month after) is unclear, but either way it seems like we’ll be seeing Shang-Chi and Katy continue the mystery of the Ten Rings’ beacon.
“Certainly I hope to be back,” Liu told us. “Where we leave off in the movie, certainly kind of alludes to it. Fingers crossed.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in cinemas now. For more check out our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order, our Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.