A newly released Special Look at Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is jam-packed with several surprising cameos, and one of them happens to be from Marvel’s Black Widow. Titled “These are low level Fights”, the Special Look video was recently posted on Marvel’s Youtube channel and features multiple time World Wushu Champion, Jade Xu. The Chinese-born martial artist was a part of Scarlett Johansson starrer Black Widow – among the several brainwashed widows rescued at the end of the film.
The video opens with comedian Ronny Chieng’s character trying to persuade Shang-Chi to fight in the underground fighting club as he looks for her sister Xialing with Katy. Then in a brief shot, we see Xu’s character, Helen, fighting an Extremis soldier. That’s Right! The results of the failed attempts of Aldrich Killian at creating super soldiers in 2013’s Iron Man 3, the Extremis soldiers were presumed to be dead but are somehow alive. Or at least one of them is. The clip ends with a shot of Abomination and Wong’s battle. You can check out the video below.
Kevin Feige previously hinted at Xu’s cameo back in July at Black Widow Watch Party saying, “One of the Widows, Jade Xu, was born in China, and is a multiple World Wushu Champion. She may even have a brief cameo in a future Marvel movie..”
One of the Widows, Jade Xu, was born in China, and is a multiple World Wushu Champion. She may even have a brief cameo in a future Marvel movie… 👀 #BlackWidowWatchParty
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 20, 2021
While Jade Xu only appears for a brief moment, let’s focus on the big picture here, which is that Marvel’s worldbuilding efforts are getting better and better. Why? Because Xu is far from the only cameo in the film. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is filled with several unexpected throwbacks to past Marvel films, and it only gets better. Shang Chi is not the usual origin story separated from the main timeline of MCU. The mid-credits scene hints that both Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings will play a big role in Phase four of the MCU. Especially the Multiversal War.
Also, with the return of Tim Roth as Abomination and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, Marvel seems to be embracing its past. According to the director, Destin Daniel Cretton, these characters are not being shoehorned into the movie for no reason, they will be further explored in Marvel’s upcoming projects. Cretton told ComicBook,
“A lot of those characters who are just popping into our movie for a little bit are there for a reason and are there for reasons that are yet to be discovered, either through our movie or other movies that are coming out.”
Moreover, a recent teaser introduced Shang-Chi as “Marvel’s New Avenger” indicating that he will become a major player in the MCU. &Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings released worldwide on September 03 and is being hailed as a spectacular entry in Marvel’s ever-growing filmography.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Simu-Liu, Tony Leung, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and Benedict Wong, the film is a must-watch for all Marvel fans. As for those who aren’t ready to head out just yet, they will have to wait 45 days before Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings debuts on Disney+.