Fans spotted a couple of familiar and unexpected cameos in the latest trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings— The Abomination and Wong! The Incredible Hulk villain, played by Eli Roth, hadn’t been seen in over 12 years, even though there had been teases that he’d possibly return in Avengers. The monster and Doctor Strange’s ally Wong, portrayed by Benedict Wong, are glimpsed in the Shang-Chi trailer duking it out in what looks like an underground cage fight.
Even though it clearly looks like them, the two characters don’t appear for long in the trailer, so some wondered if it really was them, or possibly just two characters that resembled them. Enter Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The usually tight-lipped keeper of secrets was surprisingly forthcoming with his confirmation that, yes indeed, that is The Abomination and Wong in the clip.
“Yes, we just recently released the final trailer for Shang-Chi. Some fans said, ‘This looks like a character they hadn’t seen in many years named the Abomination, fighting a character that looks like Wong.’ And I can say that the reason it looks like that is because that is Abomination fighting Wong.”
Feige added:
“[It’s] a fun thing to have a character that we haven’t had on screen in over a decade show up again in the MCU. And to see fans on that little tag of the trailer recognize that and embrace that is great fun.”
Of course, Feige didn’t really explain WHY these two disparate characters are in Shang-Chi, but there have been rumors that the film will involve a fighting tournament, so maybe they’re participants in that.
Roth is confirmed to be returning as The Abomination in the upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk. So maybe Shang-Chi will help set that up somehow. It should be pointed out that this will be Roth’s first time facing the Hulk as played by Mark Ruffalo, as Edward Norton portrayed Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.
Wong is expected to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and he and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) MAY even pop up before that in Spider-Man: No Way Home. (If LEGO is to be believed.)He was last seen helping take down Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.
It seems we may have to wait to find out why these two characters are battling. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters on September 3, 2021. Check back for updates until then.
