First on the chopping block was Eternals, now it’s Shang-Chi.
According to a new report, the original plan for Avengers 5 – when it was Kang Dynasty – was to have the flick star Simu Liu and have Shang-Chi as one of the film’s main leads.
Recall Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton was originally supposed to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but last November was announced off the project.
That’s not all that got booted from Avengers 5 as Jonathan Majors got the heave ho, too. Whether it was because of the big failure of Quantumania or because of Major’s legal troubles or a combination of both is unknown. But regardless, at this past summer’s Comic-Con, Marvel and Kevin Feige confirmed the MCU is moving away from Kang Dynasty in favor of Avengers: Doomsday starring Robert Downey Jr. directed by the Russo Brothers who will also direct Avengers: Secret Wars.
The info about Simu Liu and Shang-Chi being a big part of Avengers 5 comes via Inverse:
Inverse can confirm that in the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.
It could very well be possible that Simu Liu and Shang-Chi are still a part of Avengers: Doomsday but it seems likely the role won’t be as big as it would originally have been in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, especially with Destin Daniel Cretton directing.
The move away from Shang-Chi in favor of Robert Downey Jr. shouldn’t be all that surprising. Shang-Chi only made $432 million, which is less than Quantumania‘s $476 million. Worth a mention is the Asian audience wasn’t too keen on the flick as while Shang-Chi was the highest grossing of Shang-Chi, Eternals, and Black Widow, it was the lowest grossing among the South Korean audience by nearly 50%.
Simu Liu has said Shang-Chi 2 is still in the works. However, if it happens, it will be years later.
“A lot of it is above my pay grade, but it’s definitely happening,” the actor recently told The Press Trust of India. “[I’m] just very excited to kind of work on it and it’s going to be amazing. I really can’t say anything beyond that.”
