Which MCU Movies You Need To See To Understand Shang-Chi

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the first Phase 4 movie or TV show to focus on a new character, though it does have connections to past Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It’s taken Marvel Studios almost two decades to get Shang-Chi onto the big screen; it was one of the characters to be included in the studio’s original loan when they were still developing all the Phase 1 movies. But despite the entire Infinity Saga coming and going, it wasn’t until now that Shang-Chi finally happened – and with the right people both in front of and behind the camera.

The thing is, while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a brand-new story, one that takes place an unexplored corner of the MCU (and Earth), there’s a lot in the film that ties back to the MCU’s past, particularly the very beginning. Given how expansive the franchise has become and just how groundbreaking it’s been for Hollywood, it’s rewarding to watch every MCU movie (either in release or chronological order). However, that would be quite an undertaking for newcomers, seeing as 24 movies have released prior to Shang-Chi, with more than a dozen still incoming.

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Still, there are specific films audiences can watch ahead of Shang-Chi to not only understand the backstory for the main villains but also some side characters. Furthermore, there’s a general thematic throughline that goes from the first MCU movie, Iron Man, to its most recent, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Iron Man

Iron Man not only launched the MCU but it also introduced the Ten Rings organization into the franchise. At first, the Ten Rings seemed like an average terrorist group out operating out of Afghanistan, primarily to build on the real War if Afghanistan that was raging at the time. Although the group had a relatively small role in the film, they played a prominent part in the overall story as well as in Tony Stark ultimately becoming the superhero Iron Man. In order to secure Stark Industries weapons, the Ten Rings kidnapped Tony at the behest of Obadiah Stane, who actually wanted Tony dead, but the Ten Rings realized the target they had and wanted more money.

After Tony escaped using the Mark I Iron Man suit, the Ten Rings continued to work with Obadiah Stane, but were eventually defeated when Tony fully became Iron Man. They appeared at various points throughout the film, though their actual influence on the plot wasn’t felt until much later. It’s important to watch Iron Man to get a sense of what the Ten Rings group is and what their plans are, as well as to understand a bit about their history. The Ten Rings may have started hundreds – if not thousands – of years ago, but over the years, they went to great lengths to obtain power and control; much of that is shown in the first third of Iron Man.

The Incredible Hulk

Surprisingly, one of the handful of characters who return in Shang-Chi is Emil Blonsky aka Abomination. Tim Roth played Emil in The Incredible Hulk, the one and only solo Hulk movie to release in the MCU. He even starred opposite Edward Norton, who was notably recast with Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers (and every consecutive film featuring Hulk). While General Thaddeus Ross and the U.S. government spent most of the film hunting down Bruce Banner aka Hulk, the villain Hulk ended up fighting in the end was Abomination, who nearly wiped out all of Harlem.

Some time after the movie’s central story, the World Security Council urged SHIELD to recruit Abomination into Nick Fury’s Avenger Initiative. Thankfully, that was prevented, and instead, Hulk joined the team. Still, ever since then, fans have wondered what happened to Abomination (after he was imprisoned), and now thanks to Shang-Chi, viewers will learn about where he is in the present day. It’s been confirmed that Abomination appears in Shang-Chi, but for people to get a real sense of who and what he is, it’s important to go all the way back to the beginning and watch The Incredible Hulk, which only came out a short while after Iron Man did.

Iron Man 3

The one movie that connects the most to Shang-Chi is Iron Man 3, due to the inclusion of the Ten Rings group as the main villains as well as the Mandarin as their leader. In many ways, Shang-Chi‘s villain and general backstory are a means of paying off the infamous Mandarin twist from Iron Man 3, which saw Aldrich Killian reveal himself to be the real Mandarin, with Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery being a fake, playing a part in disguise (which itself shows off Kingsley’s tremendous acting range). Trevor just wanted a nice acting gig but, unfortunately, he was duped by an actual terrorist.

Tony Leung’s Wenwu is in fact the true Mandarin – at least based on the comics – and the inspiration for the entire Ten Rings story and organization in Iron Man 3. It’s been confirmed that Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery in Shang-Chi, thus continuing the twist and potentially resolving it in a satisfying way; therefore, if there’s any movie to watch before Shang-Chi, it’s this one. Iron Man 3 is effectively a pseudo-prequel to Shang-Chi, building on what happened in Iron Man and leaving the door open for Wenwu’s introduction years later in Shang-Chi. If anything, just checking out all of Kingsley’s scenes as Trevor would be worth the watch (or rewatch).

Doctor Strange

The Shang-Chi trailers and marketing revealed that Benedict Wong would appear in the film as Wong, reprising the role he originated in Doctor Strange and reprised in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Wong is one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts and Doctor Strange’s best (and perhaps only) friend. He also seems to be heavily involved in the superhero world post-Endgame.

In the trailers, he’s seen fighting Abomination in a tournament; the reason why is unclear until the film releases, but knowing who Wong is and what he’s capable of would be crucial to understanding how he could go up against one of the strongest beings on Earth. Fighting someone on the same level as Hulk would be dangerous; even Thor could barely stay alive in his bout with Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok. But here, Wong is holding his own from what the trailers have revealed. Wong fought alongside Doctor Strange in the battle against Kaecelius, and helped him defend Earth from Thanos’ Black Order and army in both Avengers films. Wong’s story seems to be interlink with Shang-Chi’s in the new film, so watching Doctor Strange could help explain some of the details around his inclusion.

Avengers: Endgame

Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War changed everything; half of all life in the universe suddenly disappeared, and those who were left had to pick up the pieces and carry on. Some people struggled more than others, and some even sought vengeance for it all. In the end, everyone who blipped away returned in Avengers: Endgame, but the damage was still done. Five years had passed and the world radically changed; everyone knew that they could be killed at any moment, which is something that is drastically affecting the storylines of Phase 4. Shang-Chi also feels the impact of those events, to some extent.

It’s been confirmed that Shang-Chi takes place after Endgame, just like most of the other Phase 4 movies and shows, with the main exception being Black Widow. Endgame isn’t a significant factor in Shang-Chi‘s story, but it’s important to know where everything falls in place, especially when it comes to understanding the overall MCU timeline as well as Shang-Chi‘s place in it. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will influence the MCU’s future, so it’ll be good for all viewers to be aware of what’s happening around the film and why certain characters appear, while others don’t.

Key Release Dates
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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