Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings looks set to introduce an exciting new corner of the MCU. Not only will it give us the franchise’s first Asian lead, with Simu Liu starring as the titular master martial artist, but it’ll also bring the real Mandarin to the big screen at last, in the form of Tony Leung.
But that’s not all, as We Got This Covered has also heard from our source – the same one who told us about the real Mandarin appearing in the film months before it was confirmed – that another character fans have been waiting to see in the MCU will turn up in the movie. Namely, Fin Fang Foom, the talking alien dragon created by Marvel legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1961.
According to our intel, the kaiju-like creature will make himself known in Shang-Chi. And while we don’t know exactly how he’ll feature in the plot, given his comic book history, we might be able to make an educated guess.
For those unfamiliar, Foom’s comic backstory goes that he’s part of alien race called the Makluan who landed in ancient China, with the dragon kept in hibernation for millennia. However, he’s eventually awoken by none other than the Mandarin, who steals ten super-powered rings from his spacecraft. The Mandarin has also attempted to control the dragon, using him to threaten the Chinese government. However, Foom was really using the villain to further his own plans for world domination. This leads the Mandarin to team up with Iron Man to stop him.
It seems likely that Shang-Chi will borrow the Foom-related origins for the Mandarin’s Ten Rings, so it’s possible that he’ll just appear in flashback. If he’s set to have a bigger role, though, then he could be awoken in the present, causing the Mandarin to form a reluctant alliance with Shang-Chi. Remember, there’s that common theory that the hero and villain are father and son.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to drop in theaters on February 12th, 2021. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more about Fin Fang Foom’s role in it.