Just before the movie premiered, we learned that Sir Ben Kingsley was making a surprise return as Trevor Slattery in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Back in the day, Kingsley looked set to join the ranks of the MCU’s best villains as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, before he was revealed to be kooky actor Trevor Slattery in disguise, working for mastermind Aldrich Killian, who claimed to be the real Mandarin.
But in Shang-Chi, we finally meet the real real Mandarin (though he doesn’t like that name), Wenwu, as impeccably played by Tony Leung. In one memorable scene, his son Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) attempt to escape the immortal crime boss’ base and discover Slattery, who’s been working as Wenwu’s “jester” ever since he was busted out of jail (see One-Shot All Hail the King for more). Marvel Studio has now officially released Slattery’s introductory clip online, which you can check out in the video above.
The other big surprise in this scene is the debut of Morris, Slattery’s unlikely pet. A faceless, multi-limbed, and winged creature from the mystical Ta Lo dimension, Morris turns out to be an adorable scene-stealer, with Slattery hilariously translating his squeaks throughout the rest of the film. Yes, while we expected Kingsley to only turn up for a cameo, he actually becomes a main character following his entrance. Here’s hoping he gets another return in a Shang-Chi sequel.
Spoilers for the movie: both Slattery and Morris survive to the end of the film, by sneakily playing dead during the battle against the Dweller-In-Darkness and his minions. The pair then appear to remain behind in Ta Lo, along with Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing’s (Fala Chen) aunt Nan (Michelle Yeoh). Ta Lo will likely be revisited in a follow-up, so fingers crossed we haven’t seen the last of Slattery and Morris.
Catch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in cinemas now.