As you may have guessed, we’ll be diving into what happens once Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings draws to a close, so consider this your one and only spoiler warning. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest superhero exploded into theaters today, in an action-packed martial arts comic book blockbuster that’s being called one of the franchise’s best-ever origin stories.
While audiences are more than receptive to new faces, this is still the MCU we’re talking about, so fans need to be satiated with teases of what’s to come next. On that front, Shang-Chi delivers and then some, in terms of both Simu Liu’s title character and the mythology at large.
The mid-credits scene reveals Shang-Chi, Liu and Wong having a conference call of sorts with a human Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel, where they question what exactly the ten rings are. Turns out they’ve sent a beacon of sorts, but to who? And where?
The post-credits show his estranged sister Xialing back at her father’s compound and taking over the family business, before “The Ten Rings Will Return” comes up on screen and the movie fades to black. As you can see from the reactions below, MCU enthusiasts are losing their minds.
Within the space of two stingers, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set up a sequel, planted one foot in the cosmic side of the MCU by featuring Captain Marvel and an intergalactic beacon, teased a team-up with Wong and/or the Avengers, and set the stage for another sibling rivalry between Shaun and his kid sister. That’s a lot of legwork in a couple of minutes, but that’s why people stick around until the very end.