The first trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings arrived earlier this week and it looked awesome! It’s the next new Marvel movie after Black Widow, scheduled to come out on Sept. 3 — only a few days before my birthday! So all signs point to the Shang-Chi film looking great! There’s no reason to doubt that Marvel isn’t going to knock another one out of the park.

But here’s the thing: I know very little about Shang-Chi and have little interest in his comic history.

Despite being a lifelong comic book fan, I simply have no history with Shang-Chi. By the time I started reading comics in the 1990s, the Kung Fu fascination was long gone and Shang-Chi was nobody. I think he’s a great choice for Marvel’s first leading Asian character. And the trailer looks like Marvel went all-in on the classic Hong Kong martial arts cinema. That sounds great! But not being a fan of Shang-Chi in the comics, I’m not even sure what I want to see in the new film…but I’m going to give it a shot anyway!

Join me after the jump for six things I want to see in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

6. Fights and stuff

So there are definitely going to be fights and stuff in this movie, but there’s some nuance to this request. Granted, I’m not someone who can really talk nuance when it comes to cinematography and movie fights. I’m no Hong Kong or Kung Fu movie expert. But we all know the types of fights we want to see. The drawn out, no cuts, perfectly choreographed fights. The real deal. The fights that clearly took time, attention, focus, study and good stuff. That’s what I want! I think that’s what we all want.

5. Ant-Man cameo

The trailer has a lot of action taking place in San Francisco. Scott Lang and his family live in San Francisco. And Scott Lang is my favorite Avenger. So much like Falcon had a guest spot in the first Ant-Man film, I think it would be fun for Paul Rudd to make a bit of an appearance in Shang-Chi. Honestly…I don’t want this one that badly. The Shang-Chi movie does not need to rely on an Avenger cameo. It would just be fun.

4. A vague Iron Fist reference

So we all want the Marvel Netflix shows to be folded into the MCU proper. I’ve made my peace with the idea that they’re not part of the MCU, and I’ll make my peace if Marvel Studios ever reboots the characters. But how cool would it be if those shows still fit? They’re mostly good shows! Which brings us to Iron Fist, arguably the worst of the lot. I liked the second season. And I was fine with Finn Jones as Danny Rand. I don’t need him to guest star in Shang-Chi…but I could definitely do with a passing reference to K’un-Lun or the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Like how the name “Stephen Strange” is just sort of tossed off in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. How about someone just casually mention the Iron Fist or the mystical city? It would be fun and we would all enjoy it.

3. Awkwafina romance maybe?

I’m a big Awkwafina fan. She’s funny. She’s a good dramatic actor. She’s a very unique and cool person. And she’s clearly going to bring those talents to Shang-Chi as the comedic sidekick. But what if, like…she was the romantic lead as well? Have we ever seen Awkwafina as the love interest? I’m not saying Shang-Chi needs to have a love interest. But a lot of Marvel movies do. The Doctor Strange movie has a love interest. Does anybody even remember Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer? And I’m not seeing any other female characters in the Shang-Chi trailer. So what if, like…Awkwafina gets to be both the comedy sidekick and the romantic lead? I think that’d be neat!

2. Fin Fang Foom

He’s the big scary Marvel Universe dragon who is the origin point for the Mandarin’s rings! Why not have him in the Shang-Chi movie? He doesn’t have to be wearing pants. And he doesn’t have to do anything complicated. But let’s see Shang-Chi fight a dragon! Or talk with a dragon! Let’s introduce dragons to the MCU! Granted, Fin Fang Foom is an alien and not a traditional dragon, but that works for me too! Heck, I’d even be happy if he’s just a dragon skeleton and the Mandarin is pulling the rings off his fingers. That would also work for me.

1. Trevor Slattery

We need a Trevor Slattery reference and a return from Ben Kingsley. Unlike many fans, it seems, I rather enjoyed the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3. I thought Kingsley in the first half of the film was amazing, a really terrifying presence. And then I liked the twist and the humor of the Trevor Slattery character. Now Marvel needs to explain to audience how we go from Slattery’s Mandarin impersonation to the real Mandarin. Doesn’t have to be a big scene. Doesn’t have to last the whole movie. Just bring back Kingsley for a bit so the movie can explain that there is a real Mandarin and he’s this new guy. Simple as that. And heck, why not have the real Mandarin kill Slattery? That might make the Iron Man 3 haters happy. It wouldn’t make me happy, but sometimes not everything is about me.

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