Avengers 5 Was Originally Set to Feature Shang-Chi as a Key Lead

Marvel Studios kept Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) as one of the main leads in Avengers 5—however, the plot idea was not finalized, and the studio transformed it into Kang Dynasty—but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to Avengers: Doomsday, with Robert Downey Jr. playing the role of Doctor Doom and the Russo Brothers returning to direct the film from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely.

According to Inverse, Avengers: Doomsday may give characters like Shang-Chi the role they deserve—along with its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. Since the release of 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, there have been no updates about the sequel or the character. The Ten Rings is somehow connected to Kang the Conqueror and the multiverse.

Here’s the scrapped plot details of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty:

In ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ the TVA began gathering Anchor Beings from across the Multiverse, believing they were the only ones powerful enough to defeat the Council of Kangs. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were the Anchors for their respective realities, while Tom Holland’s Spider-Man served as the Anchor for Earth-616. The movie was intended to be smaller in scope compared to ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ focusing more on Holland’s Peter Parker, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and other Anchors like Nic Cage’s Ghost Rider. The plan was for all of them to ultimately fail, leading to the collapse of the Multiverse and Kang’s creation of Battleworld. This would set the stage for ‘Secret Wars,’ where other MCU characters and additional Multiverse figures would converge on Battleworld.

I reported that Marvel plans to start filming Shang-Chi 2 by late 2025. There are possibilities that the film will be released between Doomsday and Secret Wars. The script is in early development, with Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of the first film, set to helm the sequel as well.

In an interview with Collider, Liu said, “Going into a sequel feels exciting. It doesn’t necessarily feel like there’s a pressure to perform or a pressure to exceed.” Liu added, “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 about 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 in the first movie, but we will 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.”

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ came out in theaters on September 3, 2021, as part of the MCU’s Phase Four. It earned over $432 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2021. The movie received praise, including a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 94th Academy Awards.

As per Variety, Marvel Studios will pay Anthony and Joe Russo around $80 million, while Downey Jr. will be paid “significantly more” — this does not include back-end compensation for the eventual box office. The brothers will also produce the two films via their AGBO banner.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is set to be released on May 1, 2026, and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ will be released on May 7, 2027.

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