Jackie Chan in the MCU? It could happen

, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings was the highest grossing Marvel Studios film for 2021. Aside from being the first Marvel superhero film with a major Asian cast and themes, it featured hi-octane martial arts action. It should then come as no surprise that Jackie Chan's fingerprints are all over Shang-Chi and The Legend of Ten Rings.

For one, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung (who played Ying Nan and Wenwu, respectively) have had history working with Chan. Yeoh first worked with Jackie Chan in Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992). Meanwhile, Tony Leung first shared the screen with Chan in Gorgeous (1999).

One other important, but poignant, Jackie Chan connection is Brad Allan. The Australian martial artist and stunt specialist served as the supervising stunt coordinator for Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. The film included a tribute to him as Allan sadly passed away. But long before then, Brad Allan worked with Jackie Chan in the film Mr. Nice Guy (1997), becoming a prominent alumnus of Chan's stunt team. Another stunt coordinator in Shang-Chi and veteran of Jackie Chan's stunt team is Andy Cheng.

On that note, one of the key fight scenes directed by Andy Cheng in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is heavily inspired by the frenetic style from Jackie Chan's films. The bus fight had a particular flair and pacing that can be found in many of Jackie Chan's movies, down to the practical use of everyday items as weapons, as in the case of Shang-Chi's jacket.

In an interview with Insider back in September, Andy Cheng and production designer Sue Chan broke down how the bus fight between Shang-Chi and Razorfist was crafted, taking an entire year to accomplish: The bus sequence is one of the longest scenes I've ever prepped. It was taking a whole year. With COVID there was a few months' break, but I remember we did choreography in October and then we finished shooting the next year in October. https://twitter.com/EntInsider/status/1435375874061316098

Some fans have noted the similarities of the bus sequence to one of Jackie Chan's most famous action set pieces in Police Story (1984). Could Shang-Chi 2 bring in Jackie Chan? Jackie Chan himself has worked with Marvel Studios parent company Walt Disney Pictures. Chan provided his voice for the Chinese versions of Beauty & The Beast (as the Beast) and Mulan (as Li Shang). He even sang for the version of the Beauty & The Beast theme song.

Chan also co-starred in Around the World in 80 Days from 2004, which was distributed under Buena Vista Pictures, before it was re-branded as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

However, Chan has been away from live action film projects in the United States for some time. After starring in blockbuster films such as the Rush Hour trilogy and Shanghai Noon, Jackie Chan's last major western role was in 2017's The Foreigner starring with Pierce Brosnan (Black Adam). The Asian superstar has focused mostly on working on films in Hong Kong and mainland China. Chan has also expressed his desire to slow down with the action as he is approaching 70 years of age.

However, that could change if Simu Liu and director Destin Daniel Cretton have a say in getting it done. Speaking with Cinemablend, Cretton shared his interest in getting Chan a key part in the Shang-Chi sequel: I mean, if we could ever get Jackie into a movie that would be a lifelong dream of mine. Yeah. Let's put it out there. https://twitter.com/moviesnowtv/status/1476470614311505923

Should Jackie Chan join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? If so, what role could he play? Perhaps the original Iron Fist or one of the other Immortal Weapons? Or perhaps the original possessor of the Ten Rings before Wenwu? Still another possibility is as the MCU version of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

Creston has only begun to write the sequel to Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, so a role for Jackie Chan could be anything between now and its completion. But for the meantime, fans are happy just to speculate the possibility of the legendary martial arts superstar joining the ranks of the MCU.

Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now available for streaming on Disney+.