Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a powerful new hero and ended with a post-credits scene that appeared to place him near the center of whatever came next. Nearly five years later, audiences are still waiting for the martial arts hero to headline another adventure. While we fans have waited for some time, franchise star Simu Liu, set to return as the character amid the 2026 movie schedule via Avengers: Doomsday, has now opened up about the long-awaited sequel. According to him, Marvel needs to "do a better job."
During a new interview with Josh Horowitz, shared on the Happy Sad Confused host’s Instagram, Simu Liu was asked when fans might finally see Shang-Chi 2. The actor admitted his guess is as good as anyone else’s, but he left no doubt about how badly he wants to return. He explained:
I would crawl through a mile of broken glass to do a sequel. ... Has it been a while? Absolutely, it has. I can’t wait for audiences to see this character again. The only reason why there’s been any sort of impatience, why people ask questions, is because we have the most incredible fans in the world that really responded to the first movie, and we need to do a better job of giving them what they want.
Liu has been fairly blunt when it comes to the amount of time we've been waiting for a pretty big, well-received Marvel film, but that final line is unusually direct even for him. It's clear he's an actor who understands MCU’s scheduling maze, so he isn't scolding fans for repeatedly asking about the sequel. however, he's also not offering another vague promise to stay tuned.
He clearly recognizes that Marvel introduced a character people loved, teased a larger mystery around the Ten Rings and then left him out of live-action projects for years.
A Shang-Chi sequel was announced in December 2021, with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to write and direct. Cretton, who directed the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, recently confirmed that it remains in development, explaining that changes across the industry following the pandemic contributed to the delay. Marvel has yet to announce a title, production date or release date, as of this writing.
The good news for fans who've been waiting patiently for more than five years is that Liu will play Shang-Chi again before his solo sequel arrives. As a member of the enormous Avengers: Doomsday cast, Liu's character will rub shoulders with a number of others, including Channing Tatum’s Gambit. The martial arts master and the card-throwing mutant apparently get to test each other’s fighting styles as seen in the new Doomsday trailer.
Liu knew Tatum’s background made him more dangerous than the Cajun accent and playing cards might suggest. The Magic Mike star has years of dance and action experience, and Liu said that physical ability became obvious as soon as rehearsals began. He continued:
Knowing that I was going to step into the ring with him, of all people, I kind of knew that I was going to get a very formidable dance partner. And Chan, my God, he moves incredibly well. As we all know, he is Magic Mike ... and incredible with fight choreography. I think it was just cool getting to play with him and showing up from day one of rehearsals and being like, ‘All right, this dude’s not fucking around.’
Shang-Chi fighting Gambit sounds like the sort of comic-book collision Doomsday should deliver. It's going to be one heck of a superhero collision.
Still, a crossover fight cannot replace a proper sequel. Doomsday will finally return Shang-Chi to the larger MCU, but Liu sounds just as impatient to continue the hero’s own story. After years of waiting, “we need to do a better job” may be the most reassuring update fans have heard.
For now, we fans can revisit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, along with all the other Marvel movies, by streaming them with a Disney+ subscription.
