Simu LIU Gives His Most Honest Update Yet on ‘Shang-Chi 2’, and It’s Complicated

Marvel fans have spent years chasing every scrap of information about a follow-up to ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,’ one of the studio’s biggest post-pandemic success stories and a film that helped turn Simu Liu into a genuine leading man. Since its 2021 release, the sequel has become something of a running joke among fans, repeatedly announced, repeatedly delayed, and rarely accompanied by any real concrete details.

That uncertainty has only deepened in recent years as director Destin Daniel Cretton’s attention shifted between projects, first toward an Avengers film that was ultimately scrapped, and later toward directing ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ Each shift left the Shang-Chi sequel further down Marvel’s priority list, even as Liu himself continued insisting the project was still very much alive behind the scenes.

That familiar uncertainty carried directly into Liu’s latest comments at Comic-Con. Speaking with Variety, Liu addressed the possibility of ‘Shang-Chi 2’ being in development, admitting that his guess about the project’s status is honestly about as good as anyone else’s at this point.

Liu went on to reflect on why the sequel keeps coming up in conversation despite the lack of concrete updates, explaining that the only reason people continue asking about a follow up is because so many fans loved the original film enough to keep the conversation alive, adding that he will never stop feeling grateful toward those fans for that continued enthusiasm.

That honesty marks a noticeable shift from some of Liu’s more optimistic comments in recent years. Back in 2024, the actor told Comic Book that the sequel was definitely happening, even if the specifics remained above his pay grade, and he has continued echoing that sentiment in interviews since, including telling reporters at New York Comic Con more recently that the project remained in motion despite his own repeated jokes about sounding like a broken record on the subject.

Cretton himself has offered more recent confirmation that the project has not been abandoned, telling Collider that development is continuing, while acknowledging that industry-wide shifts since the first film’s unusual pandemic-era release have contributed to the slow pace of movement. He has praised the original film’s cast chemistry and Liu’s martial arts ability as elements he hopes to build on whenever the sequel does move forward.

In the meantime, Liu’s Shang-Chi has found other ways to stay active within the wider Marvel universe. The character is confirmed to appear in both ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and the subsequent ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ giving fans a more immediate glimpse of the hero even as the standalone sequel continues to sit in limbo.

That kind of visibility may end up helping the sequel’s case in the long run, keeping Shang-Chi relevant within the franchise’s larger story even without a firm release date attached to his next solo outing. For now, Liu’s comments suggest that fans should not expect major news anytime soon, even as the project quietly continues moving forward somewhere behind the scenes.

With so many other Marvel projects currently dominating the studio’s release calendar, ‘Shang-Chi 2’ may simply be a case of patience being required a while longer. Until then, Liu’s gratitude toward the fans keeping the conversation alive seems like the clearest signal that the character’s story is far from over.

What do you hope to see whenever ‘Shang-Chi 2’ finally moves forward? Share your thoughts in the comments.