Shang-Chi director teases the character's power level: "On a similar level to some of your favorite superheroes"

still from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer — (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton has teased how powerful the hero really is.

"It depends if you're talking about the beginning of the movie or the end of the movie," he told Collider, in response to a question about how Shang-Chi stacks up against Hulk or Thor. "I think by the end of this movie, I think, he is standing up on a similar level to some of our favorite superheroes in the MCU. But yeah, I mean, for fun, we've debated things like this, but I don't really know the answer to it. But I'm sure we'll explore them in the future."

Spoilers ahead, but by the end of the film, Shang-Chi has taken possession of the Ten Rings from his father Wenwu. In one of the post-credits scenes, Wong, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner meet with Shang-Chi, and Bruce tells him that his life is about to change. It definitely seems that the new hero could one day officially join the ranks of the Avengers, then, and if we see him standing shoulder to shoulder with the others, his capabilities will become even clearer.

Power levels fluctuate in the MCU, with the debate over the most powerful Avenger still going – the general consensus seems to be Thor, Scarlet Witch, or Captain Marvel – but from Cretton's comments, it seems Shang-Chi can more than hold his own alongside his fellow heroes, and it definitely looked that way during the film's fantastical finale, too.

So far, there's no official word on when we'll see the character again, though we can probably expect a sequel, or for Shang-Chi to pop up in another Marvel movie sometime in the future (though maybe not in Marvel Phase 4, which is already mapped out).

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.