Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings isn’t just introducing a brand-new hero into the MCU, it’s also fixing one of the franchise’s past mistakes. Marvel fans never liked how Iron Man 3 handled classic comic book villain the Mandarin, with the upcoming Simu Liu vehicle righting this wrong by revealing the true Mandarin at last — Tony Leung is playing Wenwu, Shang-Chi’s father and the powerful leader of the Ten Rings organization.
And now that the organization is properly being explored, don’t expect them to go anywhere. We’ve heard from our sources — the same ones who told us of the Mandarin’s involvement in Shang-Chi in the first place, long before it was made official — that the Ten Rings will remain a major presence in the MCU following their reintroduction in Destin Daniel Cretton’s movie. We’ve been informed that the criminal organization will turn up as a villainous force in various other projects to come, similar to how HYDRA was once everywhere during Phases 1 and 2.
The Ten Rings first appeared in Iron Man, depicted as a more grounded terrorist cell, before Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, which established the real Mandarin hadn’t been encountered yet after Iron Man 3, revealed them as a vast and cult-like cabal that dated back centuries. The Shang-Chi trailers have finally revealed the Ten Rings the organization is named after — reimagined as arm bands instead of the finger accessories they are in the comics. Granting the wearer various super-abilities, they’re how Wenwu has remained powerful for so long.
We’ve pretty sure that Shang-Chi will end up taking the actual Ten Rings from his father, but whether the Mandarin stays in charge of the Ten Rings organization remains to be seen. Either way, it seems the evil sect will live on past the film and continue to be a thorn in the sides of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings debuts in theaters from September 3rd.
