Does Shang-Chi really feature Pokémon characters? Here’s why Marvel fans think they’ve spotted Ninetales – the majestic foxlike creature known as huli jing in Chinese mythology
- Marvel’s summer blockbuster boasts plenty of memorable characters – one of them is a nine-tailed foxlike animal that reminded viewers of a certain video game series
- Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige even said early audiences of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings thought the movie featured Pokémon characters
If you haven’t seen it yet, then take our word for it – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is steeped in Chinese mythology.
When Simu Liu’s titular hero and his companions enter the ancient village of Ta Lo, the dimension that protects Earth from the Dweller-in-Darkness, audiences are introduced to a host of mystical and mythological creatures.
These include phoenixes, lion-like creatures, strange-looking horses and a fox with nine tails. According to Marvel chief Kevin Feige, these fantastical additions (new to the MCU) led some audiences to think there were Pokémon in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
In an interview with Collider, Feige said: “The only thing that’s surprised me in early reactions, and I don’t know if this has been online, but it was in some of the early screenings, a lot of the reference points … Some people think there are a couple of Pokémon characters in there.”
He continued: “They’re not Pokémon characters, but they are inspired by similar things, I guess, which took me by surprise.”
Both the Shang-Chi creatures and the Pokémon Ninetales were based off of a mythological Chinese creature called huli jing.
