Five Years After Shang‑Chi’s Debut, the MCU Still Hasn’t Given Him a Proper Spot

When Shang‑Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hit theaters in September 2021, it felt like a breath of fresh air in the MCU. A sleek, mystic martial‑arts story starring Simu Liu and the incomparable Tony Leung was a rare spark in a franchise that had just said goodbye to a handful of its original icons.

Fast‑forward five years, and the only place we’ve seen Shang‑Chi since then is the animated corner of Disney+’s What If…? and a few comic‑style Marvel Zombies sketches. No post‑credit cameo, no cameo‑in‑a‑carnival‑scene, not even a background extra in the dozens of movies that rolled out between 2021 and now.

It’s almost surreal to spot Simu Liu in the Doomsday trailers, as if he’d been pulled from a different, forgotten chapter of MCU history. After Endgame’s grand send‑off for Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, Marvel seemed to roll the dice on a new bench of talent. Shang‑Chi was the first real, successful addition, and suddenly he’s been sitting on the bench while the studio chased multiverse gimmicks.

The original film wasn’t flawless. Its third‑act climax, heavy on CGI, felt like the franchise’s all‑too‑familiar tendency to swap practical stunt work for digital spectacle. And while the immigrant‑child narrative aimed for emotional resonance, it got a little tangled with the larger, world‑shaking stakes of secret societies and ancient rings.

Still, the movie gave us moments worth remembering. That bus‑brawl—where a city bus becomes a tumble‑down arena—showcased choreography that felt alive, gritty, and unmistakably grounded. It proved that Marvel could still pull off kinetic, martial‑arts‑driven set pieces without relying on flashy laser blasts.

And then there’s Tony Leung. With a single raised eyebrow, he turned a historically problematic comic villain into Xu Wenwu, arguably the most layered antagonist the MCU has ever fielded. Leung’s performance is a masterclass, and it’s a shame that such a talent isn’t being leveraged more often.

Since Shang‑Chi’s debut, the MCU’s creative compass has swung toward the multiverse—Spider‑Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant‑Man and the Wasp: Quantumania—leaving little room for brand‑new heroes to grow. Most of the recent films have leaned on legacy characters: Thor, the Guardians, Captain Marvel, even the Thunderbolts. Outside of Disney+ series, which have had mixed success, and a rebooted Fantastic Four set in an alternate universe, fresh faces are scarce.

Now, with Avengers: Doomsday slated for December, Shang‑Chi finally re‑emerges, albeit in what may be a fleeting cameo. If Marvel truly intends to make him a fixture, we’ll need more than a quick appearance; a sequel, or at least a meaningful role in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars, would be the least we could hope for.

Until then, the easiest way to revisit the magic is to stream Shang‑Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+. It’s a reminder of what the MCU could still be, if it ever decides to give its newest hero the runway he deserves.