It Really Isn’t Clear When ‘Shang-Chi’ Takes Place within the

This article incorporates spoilers for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has arrived, bringing a brand new hero to the MCU, powered by new — or maybe very outdated — know-how. And beneath the floor is an fascinating wrinkle — there’s significant circumstantial proof that it doesn’t happen within the current day of the MCU, however somewhat within the interval between when Thanos snapped half the inhabitants away and when the Hulk snapped them again.

We don’t have sufficient data to attract any agency conclusions. “Shang-Chi” doesn’t explicitly let you know what 12 months we’re in in the course of the current narrative — however it does inform us that Shaun’s mom and father met in 1996, once they have their epic almost-dance combat. The current of the MCU is 2023 on the earliest, and Shaun is 24 years outdated throughout “Shang-Chi.” Without another dates to go by, meaning it might happen as early as 2021 if he was conceived shortly sufficient — believable as a result of there was undoubtedly a “love at first sight” factor occurring together with his mother and father. So we are able to’t actually make an argument based mostly on that both manner, as a result of it could simply work both manner.

So we all know simply from that that it takes place after the snap in “Infinity War.” And “Shang-Chi” does make two specific references to that reality. Just outdoors Shaun’s condo, there are a bunch of posters overlaying a wall providing assist to those that have been combating the aftermath of the snap, coping with misplaced family members and whatnot. And in one of many scenes of Shaun and Katy having dinner with their buddies, there’s an offhand point out of residing in a world through which half the inhabitants might disappear at any second.

What there may be not is any reference to the lacking half the inhabitants coming again. And there are extra particulars that muddy the waters on whether or not it’s earlier than or after that. Or, if we wanna get actual loopy, possibly even that they stay in one other department of the multiverse the place the snap occurred, however the Avengers didn’t repair it.

The bulk of that circumstantial proof comes within the mid-credits scene — although not all of the clues on this scene are in settlement.

The mid-credits scene includes Shaun and Katy discussing the Ten Rings with Wong, Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner. There’s not a lot to glean from what they really are saying, however there are 4 particulars price noting right here for this dialogue.

First: Banner is in human kind, not the Smart Hulk kind we final noticed him in throughout “Endgame.” Since “Endgame” kinda implied the Smart Hulk kind was everlasting, it’s bizarre that they’d simply present him being regular once more with none acknowledgement that it’s bizarre that he’s regular once more. Given the entire lack of context to go on right here, we might guess both that he turned again regular for some purpose, or that this scene takes place earlier than he made his association together with his Hulk aspect.

Second: Banner’s arm is in a sling, which might actually be defined the results of his snap that introduced everybody again — you’ll recall that messed his arm up fairly unhealthy, leaving him in a sling on the finish of “Endgame.” That’s the simplest clarification, although I’d additionally level out that Banner’s hulk go well with from “Infinity War” bought beat up fairly unhealthy, together with getting on of its arms ripped off by the Black Dwarf. He in all probability didn’t come out of that unscathed.

Third: Captain Marvel’s hair is considerably longer than it was on the finish of “Endgame.” Here’s what her coiffure was like in “Captain Marvel” itself and at first of “Endgame.”

And that is what it regarded like on the finish of “Endgame.”

In “Shang-Chi,” her hair appears way more like the primary picture. Maybe she simply lower her hair for one scene and now she’s rising it again out. But that might be kinda bizarre since her hair was truly a plot level in…