Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani Wants To Share a Scene With Shang-Chi’s Awkwafina

Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani is interested in sharing Marvel scenes with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ Awkwafina. Both Nanjiani and Awkwafina, established stars in their own right, will finally make their long-delayed MCU debuts this year. Awkwafina comes first, playing slacker Katy in this week’s Shang-Chi. She stars opposite Simu Liu, who makes the transition from Canadian sitcom star to Marvel leading man in the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed movie. Shang-Chi will play exclusively in theaters starting this Friday, and the early reviews have heralded it as one of Marvel’s best origin stories.

Meanwhile, Nanjiani’s Marvel debut is still a couple of months away. Nanjiani plays Kingo, one of the cosmic beings in Eternals who has been tasked with watching over humanity. When a devastating new threat emerges, the titular Eternals must reunite to save the world. Kingo is one of the few members of the team who hasn’t stuck to the shadows during his many years on Earth, instead becoming a popular Bollywood star. Nanjiani stars in Eternals alongside Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, and Salma Hayek, among others.

Both Awkwafina and Nanjiani sat down recently for a dual interview with the LA Times, wherein they broke down their respective MCU debuts and peeked ahead at the future. The final question was whether the two will ever get to share scenes in the Marvel universe. Nanjiani expressed hope that it could someday happen, saying, “I would love for it to happen.” However, Nanjiani also explained he doesn’t know what’s coming next for him, adding, “I honestly don’t even know. I know nothing! I don’t know if my character’s going to come back. I have no idea what’s going on!“

The MCU rarely introduces a character who doesn’t come back for at least one other appearance, so it stands to reason that both Nanjiani and Awkwafina will return to the franchise. In the case of Awkwafina, Liu hinted that Shang-Chi sets up a sequel, which could provide the perfect opportunity for the Crazy Rich Asians actress to play Katy once again. Meanwhile, it’s less clear what the Eternals’ path forward is, but November’s movie will surely provide some clues.

Considering how vastly different their movies are, though, it’s rather funny trying to picture a scenario where Awkwafina and Nanjiani could share scenes together in the MCU. While Shang-Chi is being positioned as an action epic, Eternals has a cosmic slant to its millennia-spanning story. Of course, the MCU has a good track record with combining disparate characters together, so there could be a story someday that finds Katy and Kingo meeting. Both the actors in question and Marvel fans will have to wait and see what the future holds.