By introducing Ta Lo and the concept of interdimensional cities, Destin Daniel Cretton set to helm Avengers 5, which is currently slated to arrive in May 2025, where Shang-Chi 2 would fit in the Multiverse Saga slate is difficult to know. There are many directions as to where Marvel can take the Shang-Chi sequel, but dealing with the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities would be the best possible option.
In Shang-Chi, audiences are introduced to Ta-Lo – a village that exists in an interdimensional plane and that can only be accessed by humans through a magical portal on Earth. While Ta-Lo is not one of the Seven Heavenly Cities from the comics, the existence of hidden magical cities that can only be accessed with the help of magic in Shang-Chi sets up other places like K’un Lun and K'un-Zi, the former of which is linked to Iron Fist, in the MCU. In order to introduce or at least reference all the Seven Heavenly Cities, Shang-Chi 2 could be a tournament movie based on Marvel’s Tournament of the Heavenly cities. That would allow Shang-Chi 2 to explore several new Marvel characters, each of whom would bring a different fighting style into the movie. Shang-Chi’s fight sequences were a highlight of the movie, which could be expanded on the sequel if it incorporates the Seven Heavenly Cities.
Marvel’s Tournament of the Heavenly Cities Explained
In the comics, the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities sees one champion from each of those cities fighting in a competition that happens every time the seven different realms converge. Those champions are known as the Immortal Weapons, a term that those who have watched Netflix’s Iron Fist will recognize. The convergence of the Heavenly Cities happens every 88 years when the seven realms combine to form the Heart of Heaven.
Shang-Chi himself is not technically involved with the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities in the comics, yet what the Shang-Chi movie establishes about Ta-Lo and the existence of hidden cities across the multiverse is too good of a setup not to introduce the Seven Capital Cities in Shang-Chi 2. The Shang-Chi sequel could see Shang-Chi investigating the convergence and the rise of the Heart of Heaven, leading to Shang-Chi having to fight in the tournament.
How Shang-Chi 2 Could Introduce Iron Fist In The MCU
Perhaps the most well-known of Marvel’s Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, K’un-Lun is the city the Iron Fist is sworn to protect. Whether it is Lin Lie, Danny Rand, or any other Iron Fist, the person chose to protect K’un-Lun becomes one of the seven Immortal Weapons and has to fight in the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities if it happens during their time as Iron Fist. If Shang-Chi 2 were to feature the tournament and the Immortal Weapons, it would necessarily have to introduce a version of Iron Fist in the MCU.
If Shang-Chi 2 deals with the Heavenly Cities and the Immortal Weapons, the question of whether or not Netflix’s Iron Fist is canon to the MCU would finally be answered. The tournament of the Heavenly Cities would for sure feature Iron Fist, yet it isn’t clear whether that would be Finn Jones’ Danny Rand, a recast Danny Rand, or another character entirely. More than introducing Iron Fist, the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities in Shang-Chi 2 would largely expand the mystical aspect of the MCU.
