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Kevin Feige confirms Shang-Chi's rather 'Incredible' connection to Phase 1 of the MCU
The speculation surrounding the most recent trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings can be put to rest, people. Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige has officially confirmed that the upcoming film will indeed feature Doctor Strange's Wong (Benedict Wong) and The Incredible Hulk's Emil Blonsky/Abomination (Tim Roth) — both of whom seemed to be squaring off in some kind of super-powered cage match within the fresh batch of footage released last week.
“Yes, we just recently released the final trailer for Shang-Chi,” Feige said during a recent conversation with Rotten Tomatoes. “Some fans said, ‘This looks like a character they hadn’t seen in many years named The Abomination, fighting a character that looks like Wong. And I can say that the reason it looks like that is because that is Abomination fighting Wong."
Take a look for yourself below:
Wong, who helps Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) protect New York's Sanctum Sanctorum, hasn't been seen since the finale of Avengers: Endgame, while Abomination's been completely MIA since The Incredible Hulk, which — along with the original Iron Man — helped launch the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe all the way back in 2008. However, Bruce Banner's solo outing always seems to be left out of the larger Marvel fold, perhaps owing to the fact that its main star, Edward Norton, was ultimately replaced with Mark Ruffalo for the first Avengers movie.
“[It’s] a fun thing to have a character that we haven’t had on screen in over a decade show up again in the MCU," Feige said of the Abomination, who seems to have a new creature design to boot. "And to see fans on that little tag of the trailer recognize that and embrace that is great fun."
This won't be Blonsky's only reappearance within the shared comic book mythos. Roth has also been tapped to reprise the role for the studio's She-Hulk series, which is currently in production.
Shang-Chi also harkens back to Phase 1 in its very name. Run by the real Mandarin (Tony Leung), the Ten Rings was the clandestine organization that held Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) hostage all those years ago. They forced the arrogant billionaire/playboy/philanthropist to become one of Earth's mightiest heroes, so in a strange way, fans have them to thank for setting the entire MCU in motion.
“We can do something like Shang-Chi, introducing a brand new hero into the MCU and into the world at large," Feige continued. "But that subtitle, The Legend of the Ten Rings, actually connects it back to the very beginning of the MCU, the Ten Rings being the organization that kidnapped Tony Stark at the very beginning of Iron Man 1."
Helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings kicks down the door into theaters Friday, Sep. 3.
