Warning: The following feature includes spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as the appearance of Tim Roth's character Abomination.
When the trailer for 25 MCU movies. Its lead character, Bruce Banner/Hulk first played by Edward Norton in the MCU, was recast with Mark Ruffalo taking over for his following appearances, and it wouldn't be until several phases later that characters from the movie would start to show up again – and those would at times be recast, as well.
But the characters from The Incredible Hulk are now coming back at a fast clip, with Phase 1's Betty Ross reappearing in What If...? and Abomination now resurfacing at a pivotal moment in Shang-Chi. It's when Shaun/Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) have arrived in Macao looking for his sister Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) that Abomination shows up. Shang and Katy are thrust into Xialing's fight club, and Abomination is in the ring taking on Master of the Mystic Arts Wong (Benedict Wong). It's unclear why the two are fighting, but it makes for a memorable appearance by both characters.
Related: Shang-Chi Cast & Character Guide: All New & Returning MCU Actors
Abomination has been mostly absent from the MCU since The Incredible Hulk, only mentioned by name, or with a glimpse at his fight with Hulk, during which rampage he destroyed a section of Harlem in New York City. Some of those mentions are now no longer even considered canon, given they occurred in Marvel Television productions such as Agents of SHIELD. But, with a confirmed – more significant – appearance in the Disney+ show She-Hulk, the Abomination is back in the MCU for good. And it's been confirmed that original Phase 1 Emil Blonsky actor Tim Roth returned to record more audio for the Abomination.
Speaking with The Direct, producer of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Jonathan Schwartz resurrection of Abomination. He said, "Roth did some vocalization for us... he certainly was part of that process." Signifying that Roth did indeed return to at least voice the character to some extent, even if he did not perform physically, such as for motion capture. Schwartz went on to say that Abomination will be a larger part of the Phase 4 stories to come, so it made sense to bring back the actor for the part. Whether or not his voice was captured a part of the production process for She-Hulk is unclear – production for that series is currently underway, and principle photography took place between April and August of 2021.
In his discussion with The Direct, Schwartz went on to address what Abomination was chosen for the moment in the ring, putting it down to who was cool, and who was relevant for Phase 4 stories, saying:
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.
It's an exciting time for fans of Phase 1 of the MCU, particularly those of The Incredible Hulk, with more characters from that movie either confirmed or rumored to be appearing in She-Hulk – including the recast Bruce Banner coming face to face with the original Emil Blonsky for the first time. No matter whether Betty and Thaddeus Ross, or other Hulk characters come to appear in She-Hulk and other Phase 4 MCU movies and TV shows, Abomination is finally back in the MCU with his appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
