Could Shang-Chi Trailer Confirm Viral Tournament Plot Leak?

During most of the principal photography on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a purported leak circulated online suggesting the movie would involve some kind of underground martial arts tournament with the winner becoming the rightful bearer of the Ten Rings. Now that the first teaser for the Simu Liu-starring movie has been released, it looks like there might be some healthy evidence in support of that supposed leak.

Throughout the two-minute trailer, the film’s martial arts fights are on full display, including several shots that take place in and around what appears to be a modified MMA ring. There’s a wide shot of the ring as spectators line it, reminiscent of an underground fight club.

Before too long, both Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) step into the ring to duke it out. Because of the Shang-Chi Marvel Legends leaks we’ve seen, we know Xialing is Shang-Chi’s estranged sister, and the pair fighting each other would fit right in with a battle for the Ten Rings — especially since the two are both children of Tony Leung’s Wenwu.

The leak — and trailer, for that matter — also happens to fall in line with comments from Marvel Studios development head Jonathan Schwartz, who said Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be the most action-heavy project the production outfit has ever produced.

“I think this is the best action [Marvel has] ever done,” Schwartz previously told Entertainment Weekly. “Every punch is meaningful, every fighting style is meaningful, and the story is told visually in such a great way.”

“The core of Shang-Chi’s arc in the comics is really a family drama,” the filmmaker added. “That was something that Destin keyed into really early on in our conversations, the idea of taking this broken family and this really dark, even abusive family background and seeing what that does to a child over time.”

Joining Liu, Zhang, and Leung include Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Ronny Chieng, and Dallas Liu.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is currently set for release on September 3rd.

What other characters do you think will end up popping up in Shang-Chi? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!