Shang-Chi’s Post-Credits Secretly Sets Up Eternals

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings could be setting up the upcoming MCU movie Eternals thanks to its first post-credits scene. In it, Shang-Chi meets with notable Avengers to determine the mysterious origins of the powerful Ten Rings he inherited from his father. While none of them can identify where the powerful weapons came from, the answer could lie with the immortal beings known as the Eternals who will soon be introduced in the MCU's next Phase 4 movie.

As seen in the trailers for the upcoming film, the Eternals were created by the cosmic beings known as the Celestials, protecting humanity from their sworn enemies known as the Deviants. However, while they've lived for thousands of years, they never interfered in any of man's affairs that don't directly involve said Deviants, until the events of their titular film. This is because of a new and imminent threat which is referred to in the trailers as the Emergence.

It's quite possible that Shang-Chi's post-credits scene could be linked to this new danger as it relates to the Ten Rings and their mysterious origins which have yet to be uncovered. Could the Ten Rings discovered by Wenwu thousands of years ago be linked to the Eternals themselves? It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Shang-Chi's Ten Rings Could Be From The Eternals

While the details surrounding Wenwu's discovery of the Ten Rings are left quite vague in the MCU (with legends saying he either found them in a crater or a tomb), the comics are fairly explicit. While traveling alone through the forbidden Valley of Spirits, he found a crashed alien spacecraft and discovered the rings within, acting as a part of the ship's propulsion systems. Adapting and studying the technology, he wielded the powerful rings for himself as he attempted to conquer the world.

In contrast, the origins of the Ten Rings are unknown in the MCU, and they're also quite different than the rings of the comics in terms of their appearance and powers. That being said, the post-credits scene for Shang-Chi revealed that the origins of the Ten Rings couldn't be ascertained or identified. Apparently, there were no matches in the respective archives and databases of Wong, Dr. Bruce Bannner, or even Captain Marvel with her knowledge of the cosmos.

As a result, it's possible that the Ten Rings could be Eternal in origin, a race of beings who have thus far remained mysterious and anonymous themselves. As a result, the Ten Rings may have come from the ship seen in the trailer, rather than from the race of alien Makluans from the comics. After all, the rings did grant Wenwu immortality. Furthermore, audiences will be introduced to ten Eternals in the new film, just as there are ten rings. While it could be pure coincidence, it could also be an intriguing and secret link between the two films.

Theory: The Ten Rings Beacon Is Linked To The Eternals' Emergence

While Shang-Chi's first post-credit scene revealed just how mysterious the Ten Rings truly are, it also revealed that the Ten Rings are acting as a beacon, signaling to something or someone that could soon be coming to Earth as an imminent threat. However, because nothing concrete is known about where the Ten Rings came from, Shang-Chi and the Avengers have no way of knowing what could be heading their way soon in the MCU.

That being said, the trailers for the Eternals have teased that the energies produced by Thanos' Decimation and the Blip that brought half of all life back into the universe resulted in something known as the Emergence to begin. As seen in the trailer, the Emergence is some sort of destructive force that has come from the cosmos to end the world. As such, the Eternals apparently have seven days to prevent the Emergence from wiping out the world completely, while also battling the Deviants who appear to be rising to stop them. That being said, could the Ten Rings be connected to the Eternals' Emergence? Perhaps the powerful weapons and beacons are summoning the catalyst for the destructive event. Furthermore, it would also clarify their origins as being linked to the Eternals and their Celestial creators.

What Shang-Chi's Eternals Link Would Mean For The MCU

It would certainly be pretty exciting if Shang-Chi's post-credits scene is indeed a secret set-up for the Eternals. Not only would the Ten Rings get their origin in the MCU, but such as strong tie between these two new properties would serve to better integrate them both into the shared universe of heroes and its vast continuity.

One of the biggest challenges that new Marvel properties post-Avengers: Endgame have been and will be facing is the question of where they were during the final battle with Thanos. By creating links between the two films, it allows for their respective parts of its history to have a shared credibility, fostering more of an acceptance into the rest of the MCU at large.

For example, if the Ten Rings are Eternal in origin, it helps to explain why Wenwu has lived so long (using their technology and power). Furthermore, Wenwu being a well-connected villain in possession of the Ten Rings during Thanos' attack explains why they didn't show up in the final battle, while also reinforcing the idea that the Eternals had no cause to intervene in the world until the energies of the Decimation and Blip potentially activated the Rings as a beacon, summoning the Emergence to come to Earth. In any case, it would certainly be a fun and intriguing link if the Ten Rings of Marvel's Shang-Chi end up being connected to the powers and technology that will be featured in the upcoming Eternals.

More: Why So Many Of The MCU's Celestial Beings Never Interfere

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is playing in theater now. Eternals release November 5th.