Aside from helping to launch the nearly $23 billion Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2008's Iron Man cemented the end-credits scene as a staple of modern superhero films. With the exception of Avengers: Endgame, every MCU feature has included at least one such stinger (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 went all-out with five); even Marvel's Disney+ series have gotten in on the act. With that in mind, we're left to ask not whether Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but how many does it have.
Directed and co-written by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film stars Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) as Shang-Chi, who is forced to confront his past, and his father, when he's drawn into the Ten Rings, the clandestine organization introduced in Iron Man. Liu is joined in the cast by s Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Ronny Chieng, Zach Cherry and Dallas Liu.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings boasts not one but two stingers, in line with such MCU films as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Don't worry, we won't spoil any details. However, we can say the mid-credits scene helps to tie Shang-Chi into the broader MCU, while the end-credits scene tees up an anticipated sequel. That means you'll want to say seated through the credits, or at least stake out a vantage point at the door. Not that any fan of the MCU would plan to sneak out early anyway.
Following the controversial same-day release of Black Widow in theaters and on Disney+ in July, Shang-Chi is the first Marvel Studios film of the pandemic era to debut exclusively in cinemas. For fans still uncomfortable with venturing back into theaters amid COVID-19, Shang-Chi will arrive digitally following the traditional 45-day window.
Opening Friday nationwide, Shang-Chi arrives over the Labor Day weekend with a 91-percent Rotten Tomatoes score, and high expectations from industry analysts. Pre-release projections put Shang-Chi on a course to gross between $45 million and $50 million over the four-day premiere; that would exceed the holiday-weekend record of $30.6 million set in 2007 by Halloween. That said, some estimates place Shang-Chi's opening box office significantly higher, but COVID uncertainty and the effects of Hurricane Ida may leave projections foggier than usual.