Marvel's Simu Liu Teases Shang-Chi 2 Introducing "New Things" to the MCU
Marvel Studio is going full speed ahead with The Multiverse Saga after a few critical and financial duds with Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the next film that the studio releases, and they're hard at work developing future movies, including a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton will helm the next film after he finishes up with his Wonder Man series as well as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Not much is known about Shang-Chi 2, but the leading actor from the franchise has teased the sequel. In a new interview with Collider, Simu Liu detailed how Shang-Chi 2 will feature some new things.
"Going into a sequel feels exciting. It doesn't necessarily feel like there's a pressure to perform or a pressure to exceed," Liu told the site. "It feels like we've established a world and there's just something really nostalgic and exciting about returning to that world that we've spent so much time ideating on and thinking about. And then, we're getting to revisit some things, but also show the viewer new things. We'll deliver all of the amazing action that we were celebrated for on the first movie, but then also hopefully explore new sides of Shaun's character and the characters around him. That is, of course, if we can still afford Michelle Yeoh. She's on top of the world and just the queen of everything."
What is the Most Recent Marvel Studios Project to Get Released?
The most recent Marvel Studios project to be released will be Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania. Empire Magazine recently had a chat with director Peyton Reed about how the stakes have risen going into Quantumania. "People felt like, Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic Avengers movie," Reed told the outlet. "For this third one, I said, 'I don't want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big Avengers movie.'"
"I grew up a real Marvel comics nerd, and there are a handful of antagonists in the Marvel comics universe who are all-timers," Reed continued. "Loki, obviously. Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four. And Kang the Conqueror. In conversations with Kevin Feige and Marvel, it was like, I want to put Ant-Man and Wasp up against a really formidable villain in this movie, and so we're doing Kang the Conqueror."
"In the comics, Kang has dominion over time, he's a time traveler. His situation is a little bit different in this movie, which I won't spoil for you, but he's someone who, [while] we live very linear lives, from childhood to death, Kang doesn't exist that way," the director smirked. "It struck me as interesting to take the tiniest Avengers — in some people's minds maybe the least powerful Avengers — and put them up against the most powerful force in the multiverse."
The studio describes the film as follows: "In the film, which officially kicks off phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope's parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. Jonathan Majors joins the adventure as Kang."
What do you think about Simu Liu's comments? Are you excited for the Shang-Chi sequel? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!