The Marvel Cinematic Universe confirms Yelena Belova’s Black Widow mission was a success thanks to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The first two movies in Phase 4 largely focus on telling their own stories, but each of them also has connections to the broader MCU canon. This includes paying off teases from the past and teasing the future, with Shang-Chi secretly confirming that Yelena’s Black Widow mission was a success.

Yelena’s story in Black Widow began with her defecting from the Red Room after she was freed from General Dreykov’s mind control. She quickly found herself working with Natasha Romanoff shortly after to take down the Red Room once and for all. By the end of Black Widow, Yelena and Natasha successfully took down the program that ruled their lives for so long. This also saw them free other Black Widows at the Red Room from Dreykov’s mind control, but the movie also teased that there were hundreds of other Widows who still need deprogramming. Natasha gave Yelena this mission and now the MCU has already confirmed it was a success.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

The tease of Yelena’s success comes courtesy of a cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The movie’s underground fighting competitions brought back multiple MCU characters, and this includes quick cameo from Jade Xu, who played an unnamed Widow in Black Widow. She’s shown fighting an Extremis soldier and will take home some money if she wins the battle. Shang-Chi doesn’t reveal if Jade Xu’s Widow does win, but her presence at Xialing’s club is a strong indicator that Yelena succeeded. Her character was with Yelena at the end of Black Widow and presumably could’ve worked with Yelena to free the rest of Dreykov’s Widows. If she is now fighting for money and off on her own, then that is likely because the mission is already complete.

The possibility of Yelena’s mission already being complete might seem like it happened too fast to some since Shang-Chi is the first MCU movie to come out after Black Widow. However, it is important to remember how much time has passed in the shared universe between these films. Black Widow takes place in 2016, but Shang-Chi is set after Avengers: Endgame in 2024. That gives Yelena and the other Widows 8 years to make more of the mind control antidote and travel the world curing their sisters. While five of these years are during The Blip, the mission could still easily be achieved regardless of whether or not Yelena was snapped by Thanos.

If Yelena’s Black Widow mission is finished, this does make it unclear if the MCU will actually show Yelena on this mission at all. Her immediate MCU future will see her hunt down Clint Barton in Hawkeye per Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine’s orders. This appearance will continue to shape Yelena’s MCU story and possibly move her beyond the mission to save other Widows. That might mean that the Black Widow sequel – or wherever Yelena appears next – won’t touch on this mission anymore, which makes this tease in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings all the more important.

Key Release Dates
See also  Star Wars: Why Inquisitors Are Kept From Becoming True Sith
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
Black Widow’s David Harbour Appears In Doctor Strange 2 Commercial

About The Author


Cooper Hood
(5632 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

See also  Black Panther Director Reveals What Happened to Killmonger’s Mom

More From Cooper Hood