The wait for the Shang-Chi movie is finally over, and now that it’s out and about, there are only good things that I can hear about it. It is a well-spun origin tale with an added taste of Wuxia. And I cannot talk enough about Tony Leung’s performance as Wenwu.
That, and we also got to see some familiar faces in the film. *spoiler alert* Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance in the post-credit scene. And then there’s Wong from Doctor Strange film.
I know you must be wondering about how all these characters are appearing in the film. When does the film take place? How does it fit into the MCU timeline?
Yeah, relax. I have got you covered.
Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton told Fandango that the movie is set in “Present-day” in the MCU timeline. That means it is somewhere around early 2024. When asked if it is set Post-Blip, he replied with a “Yeah yeah.” Bruce Banner appears in the post-credit scene with a sling on his arm from the finale of Endgame, locking any theories in place.
What Time Does Shang-Chi Take Place?
The Shang-Chi trailer didn’t do much to help me put the film on a definite timeline. It was only after I watched the film that I figured out when the movie was set.
To give you a rough idea of when it’s set in the MCU timeline, it is most likely set a few months after Avengers: Endgame (set in 2023) and a few months before Spiderman: Far From Home (set in Summer 2024). Why do I say so?
There is also a possibility that Shang-Chi is right before The Falcon and The Winter Soldier setting but more on this later.
Confusing? To keep it simple, here’s how the timeline appears.
- Avengers: Endgame (October 2023)
- WandaVision (2023, three weeks after Endgame)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2024)
- Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Late April 2024)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (Summer 2024)
1. Shang-Chi Takes Place After Avengers: Endgame
The first clues have to be at the beginning of the film when Shang-Chi (Shaun) visits Katy’s place. On one particular frame to the left, there’s a poster on the wall mentioning a hotline to help people finding it hard to adjust in life after the blip. The blip poster could not exist there before Endgame.
Then there’s the post-credit scene where Bruce Banner appears with Captain Marvel (I squealed so loud). Bruce was wearing a sling on his arm like he was wearing in the ending of Endgame.
He had hurt his arm bad while undoing the snap on the Infinity Gauntlet. Since the arm doesn’t seem to have recovered yet, Shang-Chi must be set a few months after Endgame.
Please note that it is also probably not set immediately after Endgame because there is no confusion among the people, as seen in WandaVision. So somewhere in between.
2. Shang-Chi Is Set Before Spiderman: Far From Home?
Spiderman: Far From Home is set in Summer 2024. That’s almost a year away from Endgame, which… is probably well away from Shang-Chi. Let me do the math for you.
A significant hint to this lies in the fact that Wenwu mentions how the gate to Ta Lo opens on “Qingming Jie,” a Chinese festival observed on the fifteenth day of Spring Equinox.
Given that Endgame took place in October 2023, the following spring Equinox falls on April 4th, 2024, on the day of Qingming Jie. so it is safe to assume that the Shang-Chi film takes place somewhere in March to early April of 2024.
But we know that Spiderman: Far From Home is set in the summer of 2024. So that places Shang-Chi directly before Far From Home.
Where is Shang-Chi set?
Shang-Chi begins in San Francisco, where a little bit of Shang-Chi’s life away from home is shown. Then that sword-arm guy attacks Shang-Chi in a bus and cuts it in half.
Then they fly to Macao to where Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing is running a Fighting Ring. We got to see a fight between Doctor Strange’s Wong and The Incredible Hulk’s Abomination (Big Brain Move, Wong!).
But then Wenwu attacks and captures the siblings and takes them to his base. That place is where Shang-Chi trained as a kid.
Then for the rest of the film, it takes place in a different dimension in an absolutely beautiful imaginary place called Ta Lo. It is the place where Shang-Chi’s mother is from. Thanks to Wenwu’s delusion, a lot of the Ta Lo population got killed in the fight against the “Soul-Suckers” (In Katy’s words).
And the last thing that I want to say is “The Great Protector!”
About Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten rings is an upcoming American superhero film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Shang-Chi.
Cast members include Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, and Ronny Chieng.
When Shang-Chi is drawn into the clandestine Ten Rings organization, he is forced to confront the past he thought he left behind. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie will be a part of its ongoing Phase Four.
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