Following the successful theatrical release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings last year, unused concept art from Marvel Studios’ first Asian-led superhero movie has surfaced online, seemingly confirming that a Deadpool cameo might have initially been planned for the film. It was illustrated by artist Andrew Kim, who posted it through his website, which is currently not accessible now. It’s unclear if this is due to the circulating artwork or if it’s just a technical problem.
The Shang-Chi concept art features the fight pit at Xialing’s Golden Daggers Club, which was an underground fight club consisting of a mix of skilled and superpowered fighters. In the artwork, the fan-favorite anti-hero can be seen fighting against Marvel villain Proxima Midnight.
New #ShangChi concept art showing Deadpool fight Proxima Midnight in the Golden Daggers Club pic.twitter.com/6Jtmvzx1ty
— Shang-Chi News (@ShangChiNews) March 7, 2022
If the scrapped cameos had been Marvel’s first plan instead of the Wong and Abomination showdown, the Simu Liu-led film would have been Deadpool’s first official debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings featured the introduction of Canadian actor Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience) as the Master of Kung-Fu, Shang-Chi. It also starred Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Ronny Chieng, Florian Munteanu, Yuen Wah, and Dallas Liu, with Michelle Yeoh and Ben Kinsgley
The film was co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who will once again direct the already confirmed sequel as part of his new deal with Marvel Studios. The 2021 film was both a hit to critics and audiences, praising Liu’s leading performance as well as its action sequences. It earned a worldwide gross of over $430 million at the box office.
Deadpool 3 is currently being written by Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin (Bob’s Burgers), who are closely working with Ryan Reynolds on the right story for the script. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously assured fans that it will remained as a R-rated film just like the first two movies, which would make it the studio’s first movie with the said mature rating.
In a recent interview with Collider, Reynolds teased that he will be sharing more information and “a batch of updates,” about the long-awaited threequel “sooner rather than later.”
