Watch: New Shang-Chi Set Video May Reveal When The Film Takes Place

Even though the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has slowed Hollywood to a virtual standstill, there’s still been a steady stream of announcements, reveals, and rumors making their way to the internet. As we’ve already seen, some of the industry’s biggest projects have been derailed or delayed (including all of Marvel’s Phase 4 films), but we recently caught wind of a new development surrounding one of the most anticipated MCU movies.

As seen down below, a new video filmed on the set of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings shows the titular hero himself (played by Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu) along with actress Awkwafina (whose role has yet to be revealed) arriving by cab to a rather seedy-looking area of an Asian city or district. Normally, this sort of establishing shot isn’t all that interesting, but some intrepid fans have noticed the two characters walk by a wall which has the year 2020 graffitied on it.

https://twitter.com/charlesbassf/status/1254579879850291200

Obviously, this could simply be a coincidence (filming only began a few months ago, after all), but some have suggested the graffiti might be a purposeful inclusion and could mean Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings takes place in the year 2020. If that’s the case, this would be the first movie set during the aftermath of Thanos’ devastating and universe-shattering snap, before the Avengers were able to undo the damage as seen in Endgame. 

If this theory turns out to be true, it would certainly make sense seeing as how Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings pits the newfound hero against the deadly terrorist organization. After all, with the world left decimated following the events of Infinity War, it makes sense that the Ten Rings would rise up and establish more of a presence on the global stage.

Of course, we’ll have to wait a while to find out if this is the case (given that the film has been delayed until May of next year), but we’ll be sure to update you on any news or information that comes down the pipeline in the meantime.