Shang-Chi Deleted Scene Makes One Villain Role Much Better
A Shang-Chi deleted scene offers more context about one of the film's main villains. Here's why that information makes his story even more compelling.
Of the many deleted scenes in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, one, in particular, helps make one of the villains' stories deeper and better. Shang-Chi's deleted scenes are only available on Blu-ray and DVD, but hopefully they come to Disney+ in the future. Even though these scenes didn't make it into the theatrical cut, most of them add interesting nuance to the movie's key characters that could also help set up their stories in future sequels.
Shang-Chi has no shortage of villains or villainous characters. First and foremost is Wenwu, Shang-Chi's father, who runs the Ten Rings organization and eventually unleashes the Dweller in Darkness on Ta Lo. Then there are the members of the Ten Rings themselves, most notably Razor Fist, who engages with Shang-Chi in the film's first major fight scene. Even Xialing, Shang-Chi's sister, has some villainous qualities as seen when she takes over the Ten Rings at the end of the film. And of course, there's Hulk villain Abomination's Shang-Chi cameo, too. But what makes most of these villains compelling is the fact that they aren't just cut-and-dry evil. Rather, they have human complexities that make them redeemable and just as interesting as Shang-Chi's protagonists.
A Shang-Chi deleted scene called "Two Sons" underscores this fact even more for Razor Fist. In the scene, Wenwu reveals to Shang-Chi that he's actually adopted Razor Fist as his son. This revelation adds a lot of depth to Razor Fist's character and complements other aspects of the film that hint at him having a compelling backstory and an opportunity for redemption.
Family dynamics form an important backbone to Shang-Chi's story. Aside from its impressive fight sequences and special effects, the film is ultimately about dealing with the loss of family and trying to find ways to rebuild it. "Two Sons" was cut from Shang-Chi, but teases Razor Fist's own backstory in a way that also implicates him in the theme of family and loss. Being adopted by Wenwu as his son implies that Razor Fist doesn't have much biological family to turn to, which in turn hints that he could have a tragic backstory as compelling as Shang-Chi and Xialing's. This is a fact that could help him and Shang-Chi relate to each other more in a sequel if they become more allies than foes. After all, Wenwu's adoption of Razor Fist technically makes them brothers.
Aside from making him a more three-dimensional and engaging character, Razor Fist's status as Wenwu's adopted son in the Shang-Chi deleted scene also makes his potential road to redemption more interesting. Razor Fist already indicates that he's not all bad when he helps save the citizens of Ta Lo from the Dweller. At the same time, he's also seen to be a member of Xialing's regime as she takes control of the Ten Rings after Wenwu's death, which seems like a morally gray undertaking. A Shang-Chi sequel will most likely see some form of tension between Shang-Chi and his sister's Ten Rings, a conflict that will resonate on a deeper level because Shang-Chi and Xialing are siblings. By making Razor Fist an adopted sibling as well, "Two Sons" offers a window for him to play a larger and more complex role in Shang-Chi's Marvel future, whether it's as a villain-turned-hero, or as a continuing antagonist.
A big part of Shang-Chi's success is its creation of well-rounded and complex characters that wrestle with both good and bad tendencies. This is true especially for Wenwu, and he passes this struggle on to both his biological and adopted sons. By tying Razor Fist more explicitly into the family, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' deleted scene makes the villain's role a poignant mirror to Shang-Chi's, which in turn creates an even better and more complex story.