Forget Blade, Marvel Needs to Finally Bring Shang-Chi Off the Bench

Marvel Studios has had difficulties with both Shang-Chi and Blade in recent years, and it is clear which of the two Marvel should prioritize as they develop their future film slate. Both characters have found big cinematic success, with the Daywalker becoming a household name in the original Blade trilogy from New Line Cinema, and Shang-Chi bringing his kung fu mastery to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2021’s Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings. However, since then, things have been shockingly quiet for both characters.

Marvel has poured a great deal of effort and resources into getting Blade back into vampire hunting action with the studio’s planned reboot led by Mahershala Ali. However, Marvel has still failed to get Blade going despite the movie’s long development history. Here is why Marvel Studios should instead return their attention to kicking development on Shang-Chi 2 into high gear.

Shang-Chi Was A Genuine Success, So Why Is Shang-Chi 2 Taking So Long?

Marvel Studios wasn’t able to fully envision their release plans for Shang-Chi & the Legends of the Ten Rings, with the movie having to be postponed from its February 2021 release window (to capitalize on the Chinese Lunar New Year, similar to Black Panther‘s release during Black History Month in 2018) to September due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that mattered little when Shang-Chi finally hit theaters; the movie earned $432.2 million worldwide and received an overall positive reception. Simu Liu’s performance as the steadfast warrior Shang-Chi was widely praised, as was the comic relief Awkwafina brought as his friend Katy. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi also delivered in spades as the MCU’s first full-blown martial arts film.

While superhero movies frequently utilize martial arts in their fight scenes to varying degrees, Shang-Chi took it to a whole new level with the film’s first half playing like a hard-hitting Hong Kong kung fu movie, and its second having the elegance and flair of a wuxia epic. The finesse of Shang-Chi‘s fight choreography owes greatly to its stunt team that included Jackie Chan Stunt Team alumni Andy Cheng and the late Bran Allan (who unfortunately passed away just a month before the movie’s release.) Additionally, Shang-Chi‘s two end-credits scenes set up the character’s larger MCU role. One depicts his meeting with Wong (Benedict Wong), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), while the other sees Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) become the new leader of the Ten Rings. With a set up like that, Shang-Chi‘s overall strong reception, and the best fight choreography of any MCU movie, the slow progress on Shang-Chi 2 is nothing less than baffling.

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Marvel Has Had Blade In Development For Years With Nothing To Show For It

Marvel Studios’ attempt to bring Blade back to cinema screens has become a punchline, as well as the first real instance of an MCU film slipping into development hell. The reboot was first announced at 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con, with Mahershala Ali stepping on stage to confirm his involvement. Blade‘s development since has consisted of over half a decade of rewrites, retooling, directors departing, and rumors of Ali himself coming closer and closer to leaving Blade. In that time span, Blade’s only MCU presence has been a voice cameo by Ali in the end-credits scene of Eternals, speaking to Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman as he holds the Ebony Blade.

Eventually, Blade was removed from the Marvel release calendar altogether, though the project has not been officially cancelled, with Ali reportedly still attached. Worse still, 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine even managed to bring the OG Blade Wesley Snipes out of retirement for the movie’s Multiverse story, with the Daywalker taking a not-so-subtle dig at the Blade reboot’s production troubles with the line, “There’s only been one Blade, there’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” Ryan Reynolds himself has since even gone as far as to publicly advocate for Snipes to return in a Logan-style Blade send-off movie, a prospect that many fans have latched onto with an enthusiasm eclipsing the MCU Blade reboot. With nearly six years of the Daywalker’s proper MCU debut going in circles, the Blade reboot has clearly fallen through the cracks of the franchise’s plans.

Shang-Chi Needs To Be A Bigger MCU Priority Than Blade

Comparing Shang-Chi and Blade directly, it is clear that the former has far more going for him. With one popular box office hit already under his belt, and the distinction of bringing Hong Kong-style martial arts action into the MCU fold, Shang-Chi has always had a lot of potential as a future MCU pillar. The problem is that that Marvel also failed to strike while the iron was hot by not fast-tracking Shang-Chi 2 right after its predecessor’s release. As the disastrous box office downturn from Captain Marvel to The Marvels demonstrates, allowing a new character or property to cool down too much following their debut can have significant financial consequences.

Blade, by contrast, hasn’t even gotten as far as Shang-Chi has, with a reboot that’s simply run in place for over half a decade and counting. The only real notable achievement Blade as character has accomplished in that time is Snipes’ Daywalker return in Deadpool & Wolverine, which itself makes a compelling case to swap the MCU Blade reboot for Reynolds’ proposal of a Logan-esque ride for Snipes. It also highlights that Marvel needs to return their attention to getting the ball rolling on Shang-Chi 2.

With the absence of Shang-Chi himself since his first solo movie, he would likely benefit from a cameo or supporting role in another MCU project as a means to re-energize audience enthusiasm for his adventures, before proceeding directly into Shang-Chi 2. However Shang-Chi’s next adventure is handled, it’s clear that Marvel needs to give his return a renewed priority status after how long they’ve spent trying to ice skate uphill with the Blade reboot.

Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings can be streamed on Disney+.