Simu Liu Gives Fans a Real Timeline Update for ‘Shang-Chi 2,’ and It’s Later Than You’d Hope

Franchise sequels sitting in development limbo have become something of a running joke among Marvel fans, but few delays have stretched quite as long, or generated quite as much good-natured frustration, as the one surrounding Shang-Chi’s next solo outing. Five years after his character’s debut, fans are still waiting for concrete news on where the story goes from here.

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ introduced Marvel’s first Asian-led superhero film back in 2021, grossing more than $432 million worldwide and instantly making the character a fan favorite. Despite that success, a sequel has remained stuck in a frustrating cycle of vague promises and shifting priorities ever since, with director Destin Daniel Cretton’s attention repeatedly pulled toward other projects.

Now Simu Liu has offered fans his most direct timeline yet, and it comes with a clear lineup of what Marvel needs to check off first. During a signing captured on video and shared via the Instagram account Itzyreviews, Liu was asked when audiences might finally see a follow-up to the original film, and his response laid out exactly what stands between fans and that sequel.

“I have the same questions. I think soon,” Liu said, according to GamesRadar+’s coverage of the clip. “First Doomsday, then Secret Wars, and then Shang-Chi 2.” The comment effectively confirms what many fans had already suspected: that Marvel’s next two massive crossover events are taking priority over any standalone sequel for the character.

Simu Liu on when ‘SHANG-CHI 2’ will be released: “I have the same questions. I think soon. First Doomsday then Secret Wars and then Shang-Chi 2.” (via itzyreviews | IG) https://t.co/B1WNsTuSJ6

— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) September 15, 2026

Liu’s character, Shaun/Shang-Chi, makes his live-action return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ hitting theaters December 18, 2026, marking his first live-action appearance since the original film. He’s also set to appear in the follow-up event, ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ which is currently slated for December 17, 2027, meaning fans are looking at a wait that stretches well beyond both crossover films before any dedicated sequel news arrives.

The first trailer for ‘SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS’ has been released.

The film releases on September 3 in theaters. pic.twitter.com/g24jnu1ckL

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 19, 2021

This latest comment fits a pattern that’s defined Liu’s public statements on the sequel for years now. He’s repeatedly acknowledged that the project’s development isn’t fully in his control, admitting during a ScreenRant Plus interview following the ‘Doomsday’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con that his guess about the sequel’s status was honestly about as good as anyone else’s at this point.

Liu hasn’t shied away from expressing his own impatience with the process either. During a separate interview shared on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” Instagram, he admitted that while he understood the reasons behind the delay, Marvel needed to “do a better job” of giving fans what they’ve been asking for, acknowledging just how much the original film resonated with audiences.

Cretton himself has continued to signal the project hasn’t been abandoned entirely, telling Collider in a separate interview that development is ongoing even as industry-wide shifts since the first film’s release have complicated the timeline. With Cretton’s attention pulled toward directing ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and other projects in recent years, the sequel has repeatedly slipped further down Marvel’s priority list.

For fans who’ve been tracking every scrap of news on ‘Shang-Chi 2’ since 2021, Liu’s latest comments offer something rare: an actual sequence of events rather than another vague “it’s happening” reassurance. With ‘Doomsday’ arriving this December and ‘Secret Wars’ following the year after, the wait for Shang-Chi’s solo return now has a clearer, if still lengthy, roadmap attached to it.

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