After 22 movies (and counting), the Marvel Cinematic Universe has arguably the largest roster of characters we’ve seen in recent memory. While it’s great to see all our faves on the big screen, it also means that some side-characters and villains get the short end of the stick when it comes to screentime and development.
However, it appears that the comic book movie behemoth has some exciting plans in the works for the return of two villains who have fallen out of the spotlight in recent years.
During a Reddit AMA, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige was asked whether there are plans to bring back the villainous terror group, Ten Rings, from Iron Man and the Mandarin from Iron Man 3. Rather than say the usual Marvel PR spin of “we can’t reveal anything,” Feige straight up confirmed it with a simple “Yes.”
Oh my god…
Holy crap, this is big.
Ten Rings and the Mandarin are some of the most iconic villains in the Marvel comic universe and while the MCU has depicted them in one form or another in Iron Man and Iron Man 3, the two haven’t been heard from since the 2014 Marvel short film, All Hail The King, which ended on a massive Mandarin cliffhanger.
Now we’re not entirely sure just how the Ten Rings and the Mandarin will be incorporated back into the MCU following Avengers: Endgame, but there are rumours floating around that they will be the main villain in the upcoming Shang Chi film.
Okay, we’re stretching a bit there based on one simple “yes” answer from Feige and no one really knows how the Ten Rings or the Mandarin will be reintroduced, whether it’s part of a new Disney+ show or a hypothetical new Iron Man reboot.
One thing’s for sure, we’re totally down for whatever Marvel have in store and Phase 4 of the MCU suddenly looks incredibly exciting.