Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a wild ride but it's safe to say that the ending of the film is what really blew everything open.
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Shang-Chi Ending Post-Credit Scenes Breakdown, By SUPES and Brad
The interconnectivity of the MCU is what makes these films so special.
- SUPES and Brad
In the final battle, Shang-Chi faces off against a giant monster known as the Dweller in Darkness. In the comics, this monster was more of a Doctor Strange villain and he was very similar to Nightmare in a sense because they are both Fear Lords.
The inclusion of the Dweller in Darkness is so important (and interesting) because it has HUGE comic connections to Galactus. Both the Dweller in Darkness and Galactus are from the same universe and they existed before the Big Bang. It’s possible that the Dweller in Darkness could potentially be a herald for Galactus, and now that he's dead, perhaps that notifies Galactus to come to Earth.
The last scene of the movie features Shang-Chi and Katy back with the same friends from the beginning of the film. A portal opens up behind them and Wong walks through and asks Shang-Chi if he has the rings. Shang-Chi says yes and he and Katy proceed to follow Wong through the portal (which either leads them back to the Sanctum or Kamar-Taj) and the movie ends.
In the post-credit scene, Wong is analyzing the rings, trying to figure out what they are and where they came from. In an attempt to gain further insight, Wong asks two people off-screen what they think—Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel. It appears they’ve moved on from Professor Hulk because Banner is back in his human form, arm in a sling and it appears he also has a regulator of some kind on his arm, so maybe now he can fully control when he turns into Hulk. Bruce and Carol confirm they've never seen anything like the rings before and we find out the rings aren't of alien origin or made of Vibranium, they're ancient. Wong reveals that when Shang-Chi wielded the rings for the first time it triggered something and now the rings are acting as a beacon and calling out to somewhere, someone or even something.
Wong asks Shang-Chi how long his father had the rings and he said for around 1,000 years. The Eternals, like the rings, have been around since the beginning of humanity and in the comics, they were created by the Celestials using the Infinity Stones which radiate cosmic energy as well.
Having said that, it’s possible that the rings are connected to the Eternals and that's who they're calling to. Perhaps the rings were created by the Eternals themselves and that's why they're calling to them. This would be a great way to get the Eternals involved with the other MCU heroes and the story Marvel is building. I guess we’ll find out if there’s any connection when Eternals hits theaters on November 5th.
If Marvel wants to double down on setting up Galactus in the MCU, the rings could also potentially be powered by the Power Cosmic, which is a source of limitless, godly, cosmic energy that is primarily wielded by Galactus. (Yes, we want to see Galactus in the MCU)
In the end credit scene, we see Xialing, who we thought was dismantling her father’s Ten Rings organization, is actually taking over the Ten Rings organization and making it her own. A title card then appears saying: “the Ten Rings will return”. Marvel has so much content coming out on Disney Plus, so we would not be surprised if Xialing is given her own Disney Plus show, so we can explore her awesome character more as well as the Ten Rings organization. Disney Plus Day is quickly approaching, so perhaps we will get this announcement on November 12th.
Overall Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a fantastic film, but the ending is what really surprised us because of how much they're potentially setting up with Galactus, Shang-Chi’s involvement with the Avengers, and the Eternals potentially being connected to the rings. As always, the interconnectivity of the MCU is what makes these films so special and it looks like things aren’t slowing down!