Now, Shang-Chi producer Jonathan Schwartz has confirmed that actor Tim Roth — who originally played the villain in The Incredible Hulk (2008) — returned to reprise the role, and will be back again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
“Roth did some vocalization for us… he certainly was part of that process. There will be more of Abomination to come, so more of that story to be told. With regards to Shang-Chi, it sort of came down to who would be the coolest character for this moment? Who do we want to see in that ring? And then understanding who would make sense for whatever ongoing stories they have going on out there in the bigger universe.”
In another interview, Schwartz shared details about he and director Destin Daniel Crettin decided that the Abomination should make his return in the Simu Liu-led Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:
“We love that moment. We sort of knew, Destin and I, that there had to be a big, kind of showcasing fight between two known characters in there, and it just became this big talk with us in talking about who made sense, and who’d be cool, and who we would think it would be a good fight between, and we ended up with wanting Abomination because it seemed to make the most story sense for where we’re going to find him in this universe, and also, just be a cool, awesome fight. And it fell along those lines, like it was a good time to refresh Abomination’s look. We haven’t seen him for a while, so I think everyone was excited to kind of see him at all in weird glory.”
With a Shang-Chi sequel already reportedly in the works — and seemingly confirmed after the new Marvel movie’s post credits scene when a screen flashes that reads “The Ten Rings Will Return” — the Abomination could continue to play a larger role in the MCU moving forward.
Fans are also hoping that Shang-Chi 2 could introduce the mystical lost city of K’un-Lun, one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, and the home of Danny Rand/Iron Fist.
This popular Marvel Comics character previously appeared in the ill-received 2017 Netflix Iron Fist series, as portrayed by actor Finn Jones. The general hope from fans online is that he will be recast before his MCU debut, whenever it may be.
Emil Blonsky is a former special-ops commander of the British Royal Marines who was loaned to SOCOM. In his efforts to capture Hulk, U.S. General Thaddeus Ross recruited Blonsky and had him injected with a variant of the Super Soldier Serum. After losing to Hulk during a battle at Culver University, Blonsky had himself transfused with Banner’s gamma-irradiated blood, [the gamma radiation caused] him to transform into the Hulk-sized Abomination. He then proceeded to go on a rampage in Harlem until he was defeated by Hulk. Shortly after his defeat, the World Security Council wished to have Blonsky added to the Avengers Initiative, forcing Phil Coulson to send Tony Stark as a representative to prevent his induction. Blonsky was then remanded to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s custody, who held him in a cryostasis facility in Alaska.
Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization. The film also stars Tony Leung as [Shang-Chi’s father] Wenwu [The Mandarin], Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu and Ronny Chieng.
Are you excited about the return of the Abomination?
You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the three series in Marvel’s Phase 4 so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki — on Disney+ anytime.