
The early 2020s were rough for Marvel Studios, and the franchise seems determined to sweep the era’s films under the rug forever. Sure, Black Widow gave us Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and the Red Guardian (David Harbour), but other attempts to expand the MCU fell flat. Plans to continue the Eternals’ storyline are dead in the water. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is stalled after Spider-Man: No Way Home capped off his trilogy. And then there’s Shang-Chi, the martial arts master played by Simu Liu, who was positioned as a major new Avenger.