Avengers: Doomsday Photo Unveils Redesign For Simu Liu's Shang-Chi

Simu Liu's Shang-Chi will officially wear an updated costume for his Avengers: Doomsday return. Despite the highs and lows of the MCU post-Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios has produced some breakout fan-favorite heroes in the Multiverse Saga, including Shang-Chi. The martial artist superhero will finally return this December in Doomsday, seemingly joining up with Anthony Mackie's Captain America and his updated roster of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

As Avengers: Doomsday edges closer toward its release on December 18, Marvel Studios unveiled the first look at Shang-Chi's redesigned costume as part of an official concept art of the movie's heroes and villains. For the most part, the costume hasn't changed much since Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but the martial artist has added a tribute to his late father, the Mandarin.

The costume was also spotted in Doomsday's trailer inside the X-Mansion, where Doomsday wore red and black while wielding the Ten Rings in battle with Channing Tatum's Gambit, tossing his ancient weapons at the kinetically charged mutant.

After spending most of his solo debut in civilian attire, Shang-Chi acquired his iconic red-and-black tunic-style costume in the mystical village of Ta Lao, honoring his mother's heritage with its unique dragon-scale material.

Marvel Studios has kept Shang-Chi's costume extremely similar for Avengers: Doomsday, which is fortunate, as he only wore it in the third act, and the suit is a perfect live-action take on his more recent comic looks. However, the costume has received one update: new (but familiar) tassels now hang from his waist. 

Shang-Chi's suit may not have come with tassels in The Legend of the Ten Rings, but one person whose did is his father, Tony Leung's Wenwu, aka Mandarin. After the Ten Rings' founder was killed when the Dweller-in-Darkness drained his soul, Shang-Chi may have copied his tassels as a tribute to his father, effectively honoring both of his late parents with the costume's components. 

What to Expect From Shang-Chi's Role in Avengers: Doomsday & Beyond

Recently, Simu Liu expressed disappointment when Shang-Chi was omitted from Avengers: Doomsday's recap watchlist, calling the move "typical." But that's not to say that Shang-Chi won't have a crucial role in the Phase 6 blockbuster; simply that the movie will ensure he is introduced without requiring prior knowledge.

So far, the only superheroes to meet Shang-Chi are Bruce Banner, Captain Marvel, and Wong, none of whom are confirmed to appear in Doomsday. That makes it rather confusing how Shang-Chi will actually be brought into the fold, but perhaps one of them will put him in touch with Sam Wilson as he forms his Avengers.

All that is officially known about Shang-Chi's role in Avengers 5 is that he will travel to the Fox X-Men universe and take on Channing Tatum's Gambit, presumably as an Incursion looms with Earth-616. The movie is bound to offer a nugget or two about what Shang-Chi has been doing in recent years, likely having advanced as a superhero and gained further mastery of his father's Ten Rings.

Fortunately, Avengers: Doomsday won't be the last time that fans see Liu suit up as Shang-Chi and wield the Ten Rings in battle. The MCU actor confirmed to People earlier this year that he "will be lucky enough to be a part of [Doomsday's] successor in Secret Wars," when it releases in December 2027.

Shang-Chi is also one of the Multiverse Saga superheroes who is expected to live on into Phase 7 and the MCU's third saga, as director Destin Daniel Cretton recently offered an encouraging update on the solo sequel's development. Many are hopeful that Shang-Chi 2 will grab one of the three vacant 2029 release dates for MCU movies, eight years after the first arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.