Despite being the second of three consecutive Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters to be denied a release in China, an unwanted streak that comes to an end with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings still managed to fly higher at the box office than anybody was expecting.
Not only is it the second highest-grossing movie of 2021 that didn’t hit Chinese theaters, it also became the first title of the pandemic era to cross $200 million domestic, after flying out of the blocks by almost tripling the Labor Day opening weekend record that Rob Zombie’s Halloween had held for fourteen years.
Even though a sequel was as good as guaranteed, fans have still been wildly celebrating the news that Destin Daniel Cretton has officially signed on the dotted line to write and direct Simu Liu’s next adventure as the MCU’s newest Avenger.
Now that the origin story and world-building is out of the way, the next installment in the nascent Shang-Chi series is free to tell a much more expansive and action-packed tale. The opener was largely self-contained up until the first credits scene introduced the title hero to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers, but the possibilities are now endless for what comes next.