We all knew this was coming, but Marvel Studios has officially confirmed that Destin Daniel Cretton has signed on to write and direct the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as part of an exclusive multi-year deal with Disney that also includes an unnamed streaming series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 25th installment in the franchise defied expectations at every turn to set several pandemic-era box office records, while it scored some of the best reviews for any MCU origin story. After Simu Liu’s title hero was confirmed as an Avenger before the movie’s opening weekend was over, it became clear the studio had major plans in store.
As per Deadline, Cretton’s freshly-inked contract covers the MCU and Hulu’s Onyx Collective, and his next comic book adaptation American Born Chinese is reported to be starting production early next year, so he’ll presumably move onto the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel after that.
As for the Disney Plus series? That remains up for debate, but there’s been plenty of chatter about a potential episodic spinoff for Meng’er Zhang’s Xiu Xialing leading her father’s organization, which is a definite possibility. Fans will be hyped that the Shang-Chi sequel is officially in active development — all we need now is a release date.