‘Shang-Chi 2’ is Still in the Works Confirms Director!!

The sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has received an exciting update after 5 years of silence. The project entered development in 2021, following the success of the Simu Liu-led film, and its director, Destin Daniel Cretton, has been tied to other Marvel Studios projects, like Wonder Man (which earned a rare Season 2 renewal) and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With Shang-Chi confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, will fans be seeing more of this Marvel hero?

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings follows Shang-Chi (Liu), who’s hunted down by an ancient criminal organization called the Ten Rings, led by his father, Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung), revealing to him, his sister, Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), and best friend, Katy (Awkwafina), that his mother could be held captive by Ta Lo behind a sealed gate. Since its release, it has generated over $432 million worldwide, and a follow-up is still in the works despite few updates. Five years later, the Marvel filmmaker has revealed an update on the sequel’s development.

In a recent interview, Cretton revealed that Shang-Chi 2 is still in the works, aligning with Liu‘s similar comments back in 2024. The filmmaker noted that the first movie came out at an unusual time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so not many theaters were open to showing it. He also hinted that changes in the industry may have contributed to the project’s delay:

“We are developing a second one. You know, what’s going on is what went on with the entire industry since that, you know, that movie came out, like it was successful, but it actually came out weirdly. It was successful at the time when there was, like, a new wave of COVID was hitting. So, it was still successful, but it was also, I think many countries were completely shut down to theaters at the time. So, and you know, after that, there were just crazy changes all over the place. So, it was, it’s just a result of the industry.”

Is ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Worth Watching?

When Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released in theaters, it was highly praised, earning a Certified Fresh critics’ score of 92% and a Verified Hot audience score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also nominated for numerous accolades, including Academy and Satellite Awards for “Best Visual Effects” and for “Best Superhero Film” at the Saturn Awards.

According to critics, Screen Rant claimed that Wenwu isn’t an “underwhelming bad guy” churned out by previous MCU movies and that it was a “great origin story.” Meanwhile, CBR praised Liu‘s performance as Shang-Chi, saying he “effortlessly inhabits the role” and balances all the different sides of the character. Collider‘s Matt Goldberg gave Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings a “B-” rating in his review. He claimed the film made the most of Liu‘s martial arts skills and that the cast is “incredibly likable,” noting that Marvel didn’t just make Awkwafina‘s character comic relief.