Marvel Finally Delivers Its First Shang-Chi 2 Tease In 4 Years, Setting Up Exciting Crossover

1 week ago 11

Published Jan 31, 2026, 12:55 PM EST

Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.

He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.

5 years ago, Marvel Studios introduced one of its best post-Avengers: Endgame characters with Simu Liu's Shang-Chi. The 2021 solo film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a critical hit and a strong performer financially. With the admiration for Marvel's biggest Asian superhero, it came as no surprise when Marvel confirmed Shang-Chi 2 was in development in December 2021.

Shang-Chi's ending and credits set up an exciting future for the hero and the Ten Rings organization, but there have been no concrete updates since Shang-Chi 2's original announcement. Destin Daniel Cretton tackling Spider-Man: Brand New Day only complicated matters. After years of questions regarding where the story could go, Marvel and Cretton appear to have finally teed up what's coming next.

Trevor Slattery Becoming The Mandarin Again Sets Up A Ten Rings Showdown In Shang-Chi 2

Between making Shang-Chi and Brand New Day, Cretton helped create Marvel's new Wonder Man series. While the primary focus is on introducing Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), it also prominently features Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who was last seen in Shang-Chi. He's attempting to restart his acting career while working for the Department of Damage Control in secret to help them catch Simon.

But by the time Wonder Man ends, Trevor takes up the Mandarin title once more. He returns to his look from Iron Man 3 and claims he's responsible for an explosion that Simon actually caused. The video of him admitting this is played on news stations around the world. Trevor includes the Ten Rings logo in the video despite having previously been kidnapped by the group for wrongfully impersonating their leader and only recently getting his freedom back.

This could set the stage for the Ten Rings, now under the command of Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), to go after Trevor once again. He's made a mockery of her father's legacy once again, and his actions have also brought the Ten Rings organization back into the public consciousness. Considering Cretton's involvement in Wonder Man, it'd make a lot of sense for this to be a way he's planting the seeds for Shang-Chi 2's story.

The sequel could see Xialing working to undo any damage caused by Trevor's stunt or even hunting him down so he can answer for his actions. In any case, it would be a bit surprising at this point if Shang-Chi 2 completely ignored Trevor's Mandarin turn and didn't explore the Ten Rings' reaction to it.

Trevor Slattery's Shang-Chi 2 Role Can Bring Wonder Man Into The Story

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starring intensely forward with colored eyes in Wonder Man

If Trevor is going to be back in some fashion for Shang-Chi 2, that creates an easy path for Wonder Man to also appear. Simon and Trevor are last seen together as the former breaks the latter out of the DODC prison. Where they're going isn't known, but it is clear that the acting buddies plan to stick together for the foreseeable future.

So, if the Ten Rings do go after Trevor in Shang-Chi 2, they'll have to deal with Wonder Man. It'd be pretty exciting after Wonder Man if Shang-Chi 2 winds up leading to Simon and Shang-Chi teaming up together to protect Trevor from Xialing and the Ten Rings, perhaps setting the stage for them to form a West Coast Avengers team at the end of it all.