3 details you might have missed that confirm when 'Shang-Chi' takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ️Kirsten Acuna
- ️Fri Sep 03 2021
3 details you might have missed that confirm when 'Shang-Chi' takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
- You may be wondering if "Shang-Chi" takes place before or after "Avengers: Endgame."
- A poster early in the film and a certain character's sling confirm it's after the blip.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
There's a post-Blip poster near the film's start.
When Shang-Chi heads to Katy's house for breakfast, focus on the left side of the screen. Right before he opens the door, there's a wall full of posters.
Among them is a sign offering help to those struggling to adjust with life post-Blip. The poster reminds people that they're not alone and mentions a hotline.
The moment occurs soon after Shang-Chi and Katy catch up with their friends.
The math adds up, for the most part, if we make an assumption that Shang-Chi was born around 1998.
Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) meets his future wife, Li (Fala Chen), in 1996 near the film's start.
We later learn that Shang-Chi left home around 14/15 and has been on his own for 10 years, the amount of time Katy (Akwafina) says she's known him.
Later, Wenwu says he gave Shang-Chi a decade to live his own life before he sought him out. According to that math, Shang-Chi should be about 25.
"Avengers Endgame" takes place in 2023. If we assume Shang-Chi wasn't born in 1996, but two or so years later, that would bring "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" to 2023 as well.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton also told Fandango the film takes place "in the present day in the MCU timeline."
When asked if the film takes place in the present day, after the Blip, Cretton succinctly told Fandango, "Yeah, yeah."