SDCC: Marvel Announces Shang-Chi Casting, Release Date

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's next phase is quickly taking shape, thanks to news announced at Marvel Studios' panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. We now know a bunch more about what to expect from Black Widow and Eternals, we now we have official confirmation of another new MCU superhero and villain in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige made the announcement on stage, confirming some Shang-Chi rumors that have been floating around for a while. He also gave some details about who would be making the movie. Simu Liu will play Shang-Chi, while Tony Leung will play the Mandarin, and Destin Daniel Cretton is directing. Awkwafina also has a role in the movie, although Feige didn't elaborate on what that might be.

The movie is set to release on February 12, 2021.

The Mandarin is a villain you might recognize from the MCU of the past--he appeared as the antagonist in Iron Man 3, played by Ben Kingsley. As it turned out, that Mandarin was a red herring, distracting Tony Stark and the rest of the world from the movie's real villain, Aldrich Killian. According to Feige, the villain of Shang-Chi is the "real" Mandarin, and he isn't happy about being impersonated.

The Ten Rings have also been a part of the MCU before now. That's the name of the terrorist organization that kidnapped Tony Stark back in the first Iron Man movie. Tony struck a blow against the group when he escaped captivity in his first cobbled-together Iron Man suit, but clearly, the organization is still a big deal in the MCU.

There's plenty more news coming out of the Marvel panel, so stay tuned to our Comic-Con hub for our full coverage of everything you need to know.