Marvel Is Forgetting Its Best MCU Movie In Years
By now, even the most die-hard fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come to admit that the beloved franchise is not what it used to be, with plenty of duds, missteps, and downright box office flops weighing down the latest leg of the narrative journey. Even discounting major behind-the-scenes issues such as Jonathan Majors’ tumultuous departure from the franchise and the lack of stakes presented by exploring the multiverse, Marvel seems to have lost the magic they once held in the days leading up to the Infinity Saga. Personally, I think the most glaring indication of this problem is the fact that Marvel execs seem to have completely forgotten about the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Where’s Shang-Chi 2?
For those who don’t recall, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings first premiered in 2021 and served as one of the first true back-to-basics origin stories of the MCU since the conclusion of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Though the movie connects to a number of other MCU projects, it offers a look into a brand new character with unexplored and unexplained powers and even provides a fresh and compelling backstory.
The film seemed to be a major hit with critics and audiences alike, yet fans are still patiently waiting for the return of Shang-Chi to the big screen now, more than three years after Legend of the Ten Rings premiered.
Not Even A Hint Of A Return
To give you an idea of how badly Marvel has dropped the ball here, imagine if they had waited over three years after the success of the first Iron Man to even so much as announce the planned return of Robert Downey Jr. For what it’s worth, a Shang-Chi follow-up film doesn’t even seem to be a priority to Kevin Feige and company, despite the fact that the film outperformed nearly every movie that followed it by both critical acclaim and box office success.
One Of The Best Post-Endgame Movies
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings currently touts a certified fresh critic score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 98 percent general audience score to match. The film took in over $432 million at the global box office and likely pulls in tons of new home streaming numbers on Disney+ since landing on the service. Do execs at Disney truly believe that Shang-Chi 2 would have performed as poorly with audiences as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, or Thor: Love and Thunder, or The Marvels?
Not Everything This Decade Has Been Horrible
In fairness, not every Marvel film to release since Shang-Chi has been a disaster, as some outings like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine have even surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office. Still, these films have become the exception rather than the rule and have been hailed as the “saviors” of the MCU due to the significant gap in quality between similarly-timed releases.
Marvel Is Fumbling The Bag
When Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings premiered, it was a welcome surprise to many movie-goers who felt that Marvel would never return to form after the culmination of the Infinity Saga, so dropping it like a hot potato seems like the biggest misstep humanly possible for the team pulling the strings.
