Intriguing MCU theory connects ‘Shang-Chi’ to ‘Thor: The Dark World’

In a turn of events nobody could have seen coming, Thor: The Dark World is no longer the worst-reviewed solo movie starring Chris Hemsworth’s Asgardian. Widely derided for close to a decade as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s weakest installments, Alan Taylor’s troubled production now sits a solitary percentage point above Taika Waititi’s Love and Thunder on Rotten Tomatoes.

An early montage in The Dark World showcased the God of Thunder partaking in many battles across the Nine Realms, and during Thor’s lenghty tenure as part of the MCU, we’ve visited almost all of them. Asgard speaks for itself, but at various points we’ve also seen or heard about Hel (where Hela was imprisoned by Odin), the Dark Elves’ homeworld of Svartalfheim, the Frost Giants’ stronghold of Jotunheim, fire demon Surtur’s spicy domain of Muspelheim, and the cosmic forge of Nidavellir.

With that in mind, an intriguing fan theory put forth on Reddit directly connects Hemsworth’s sophomore solo outing to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, by putting forth a compelling case that the mystical village of Ta Lo isn’t actually on Earth. Instead, it’s suggested that the remote outpost is on Vanaheim, the birthplace of Tadanobu Asano’s warrior Hogun.

Based on the responses in the comments, a lot of people are suitably impressed by how the dots have been joined together by OP. Shang-Chi and The Dark World don’t appear to have much in common at all on a surface level, but they might be inextricably tied together by Yggdrasil of all things.