Deadpool Appears in Original 'Shang-Chi' Concept Art

Following Disney‘s acquisition of 21st Century Studios, fans have been waiting for Marvel characters from both two sides to unite in the MCU. Marvel Studios concept illustrator Andrew Kim recently released an illustration that reveals the appearance of Deadpool in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Kim’s original concept designs for Shang-Chi show a cameo that was omitted from the main film set in Macau’s illegal fight club Golden Daggers. The rendering shows Deadpool facing off against Thanos’ daughter Proxima Midnight, a scene which was replaced by Wong’s battle with Abomination in the actual film. As Proxima Midnight was killed in Avengers: Endgame, the fight was no longer possible. Despite the excitement generated from the image, Kim revealed that Deadpool and Proxima were never expected to make it in the movie.

“Long story short, and sorry to disappoint, but there was no involvement of Deadpool or Proxima in the early going,” Kim told IGN. “When I was designing the fight club, my PD mentioned to me that we could see other Marvel characters fighting in the ring when we first revealed the scene. Deadpool and Proxima were my idea to put in as I thought their dynamic fighting styles could be a perfect fit in the ring like that (you know, they don’t fly) and Deadpool’s red was a nice pop against the bluish background, so part of it was a design choice for this concept painting.”

Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool later spontaneously made his MCU debut in a trailer reaction video for Free Guy sitting next to Taika Waititi‘s Thor: Ragnarok character Korg. Looking to the future, rumors are circulating around a potential Professor X appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will unify the Marvel characters from 21st Century Fox and Disney on the big screen.

Take a look at Andrew Kim’s full Shangchi concept art gallery here.

Elsewhere in entertainment, 20th Century Studios confirms Avatar 2 will release this year without delays.