Shang-Chi In Doctor Strange 2 Would Be A Mistake

Simu Liu, who starred in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, claims he’s not in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and that’s a good thing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Simu Liu debuted as the MCU’s resident martial arts superhero in Shang-Chi. During the film, Shang-Chi wrestles with his dark past, reunites with his family to help defeat the evil Dweller-in-Darkness, and takes control of the Ten Rings, a magical and powerful weapon. However, the film ends with a sly tease that Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), now controls their father’s clandestine criminal organization, named after the mysterious Ten Rings. Disney and Marvel already greenlit a sequel with Destin Daniel Cretton set to return as director.

Doctor Strange 2 will change the course of the MCU. Though Spider-Man: No Way Home gave Marvel fans a taste of the Multiverse, the Doctor Strange sequel will bust it wide open. The new sequel already has a dimension-twisting trailer, teasing the returns of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Baron Karl Mordo, and Benedict Wong’s Sorcerer Supreme Wong. However, rumors indicate several other major Marvel characters will also appear. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki may show up in the Doctor Strange sequel, and X-Men characters could supposedly appear as well.

Though several characters appear in Doctor Strange 2, it’s good that Shang-Chi isn’t among them. During a recent interview, Simu Liu shot down the rumors that he will also make a cameo in the Doctor Strange follow-up. “Even if I were in that movie, which I’m not, there is no way in hell that I would ever say it out loud,” he said. Though it’s hard to take actors at their word when it comes to Marvel movie appearances, it’s best for the MCU if the Shang-Chi actor doesn’t appear in Doctor Strange 2.

Shang-Chi deserves a lot more in his next MCU appearance than a small cameo in Doctor Strange 2. After all, Disney has already loaded the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel with actors, and the possible introduction of the X-Men could overshadow any other narratives from the film. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi has a lot to resolve in his MCU story. At the end of Shang-Chi, the character wants to discover the source of the magical Ten Rings, and he will no doubt have run-ins with the crime organization that Xialing controls. A small part in Doctor Strange 2 could push those storylines to the side and reduce all of the MCU’s future stories to Multiverse shenanigans. It’d be an unfortunate misstep for a character that won over MCU fans in a massively successful film.

Still, there’s always a possibility that Shang-Chi shows up in Doctor Strange 2. When it comes to MCU films, fans can’t trust actors. Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that actors would even outright lie about cameos in Marvel films, so there’s still a possibility that characters from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings make surprise appearances. However, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness isn’t about Shang-Chi. If the character appears in the film and Marvel puts Shang-Chi’s stories on the back burner, that is truly madness.