Why Marvel Fans Are Still Waiting on Shang-Chi, Harry Styles’ Eternals Debut, and Other MCU Post-Credits Payoffs

Marvel fans are used to treating post-credits scenes like the next piece of a much bigger puzzle. That is exactly why a handful of MCU teases, including Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings mystery and Harry Styles’ surprise turn in Eternals, still stand out as dangling threads.

Why these Marvel teases still matter

For much of the MCU’s first 18 years, Marvel Studios built its films around an ongoing shared story as much as around each individual movie. The 23-film Infinity Saga was designed to build toward Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, with crossovers and callbacks all feeding into that larger destination.

After that era wrapped with 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, the franchise needed a new central idea to hold together its expanding slate of stories, multiverse chaos, and world-shaking events. That search has been uneven, and one result has been a growing pile of post-credits scenes and cliffhangers that fans remember clearly even when the MCU has not returned to them in a meaningful way.

A few of the most memorable examples involve films and series that introduced major-seeming threats, new identities, or star-powered cameos, only for the next step to remain unclear.

Shang-Chi set up two major questions and neither has been answered yet

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ended by pointing in two directions at once. In the mid-credits scene, Wong brings Shang-Chi, also called Shaun, and Katy to Kamar-Taj. There, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers appear as holograms to examine the origins of the Ten Rings. What they conclude is not an answer, but a larger mystery: the rings are described as an ancient beacon sending a signal, with neither the message nor the intended recipient identified.

The film’s post-credits tag adds a second unresolved setup. Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing, is revealed as the new leader of the Ten Rings organization, even though she had said she would dismantle it. Instead, she is shown reshaping the group and making it gender-inclusive.

That leaves fans with a sequel-shaped gap. Destin Daniel Cretton is said to be developing a follow-up to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but he has also been occupied with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a Naruto movie. Simu Liu is confirmed to return as Shang-Chi in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. What still has not been clarified is the central question Shang-Chi left behind: who, or what, the rings are calling out to.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier changed Captain America, but not every thread was tied off

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also left viewers with more than one unresolved development. One was the idea of two Captain America figures emerging from the same story. John Walker lost the Captain America title after a botched mission, while Sam Wilson stepped into the role and became the new Captain America. Walker then received a new costume and a new identity, U.S. Agent, through Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Sam’s status moved forward in Captain America: Brave New World, which also stars Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross and Tim Blake Nelson as the Leader. By the time Thunderbolts* arrives, Sam is clearly the official and only Captain America. Walker, meanwhile, no longer even seems to be operating as U.S. Agent, and instead is presented as a mercenary carrying a shield without any formal government standing. Even so, Thunderbolts* leaves open another rivalry by indicating that Sam’s new Avengers and Walker’s new Avengers are competing over the name.

The series also pointed Sharon Carter in a darker direction. It revealed that the former SHIELD agent had become the Power Broker. She is pardoned by the U.S. government for crimes tied to Captain America: Civil War and is offered a CIA role, only to later be shown talking about selling government secrets, weapons, and technology. That turn has not been fully paid off either, even as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are both set to return in Avengers: Doomsday.

Eternals may be the MCU’s biggest collection of loose ends

If any Marvel ending feels built to spark years of fan speculation, it is Eternals. The movie leaves Earth publicly exposed to the existence of Celestials, and one especially visible reminder remains in place: Tiamut’s giant marble hand and head are still sticking out of the Indian Ocean.

The film’s ending also sends Thena, Makkari, and Druig into space to search for other Eternals. Their ship, the Domo, is then boarded by two new arrivals to the MCU. One is Eros, also known as Starfox, who is introduced as Thanos’ brother and played by Harry Styles. The other is Pip the Troll, voiced by Patton Oswalt. Eros tells Thena that her friends are in serious trouble and offers to help locate them.

Then the post-credits scene adds yet another setup. Dane Whitman opens a box containing the Ebony Blade, and an off-screen Blade, voiced by Mahershala Ali, asks whether he is ready for it. The moment strongly suggests Whitman’s path toward becoming Black Knight, a character with Avengers history in Marvel Comics and ties to Arthurian legend.

But Eternals has not received a sequel on Marvel’s current list of announced projects, even though director Chloé Zhao has said she would return for one. The Black Knight thread also appears stuck. The character and the Ebony Blade seemed positioned to connect with Marvel’s Blade film, which is now described as all but dead, and Ali and Kit Harington do not appear to have plans to return to the MCU. For fans who still remember the Harry Styles reveal or that Blade voice cameo, Eternals remains one of Marvel’s most prominent unfinished promises.