The recent trailer of 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' caused an uproar with eagle-eyed MCU fans - could that be the Hulk supervillain?
And it turns out that, yes, indeed it is. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed this week that we will see the villainous return of Abomination in the upcoming 'Shang-Chi' movie. The character was initially introduced into the MCU over 10 years ago.
Appearing as the big baddie in 'The Incredible Hulk' in 2008, and played by actor Tim Roth, Emil Blonsky was first injected with the Super Soldier Serum before being transfused with Edward Norton's Bruce Banner and his gamma-irradiated blood. Resulting in the creation of Abomination, he then lost to Hulk in a big showdown in New York and was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody in a cryostasis facility in Alaska.
Last week, we caught our first glimpse of the character's return into the MCU fold, which has only now been confirmed as definitely being the super-human creation. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige confirmed the fan speculation in a recent interview with Rotten Tomatoes.
He told the website: "Some fans said, 'This looks like a character they hadn’t seen in many years named The Abomination, fighting a character that looks like Wong. And I can say that the reason it looks like that is because that is Abomination fighting Wong...
"[It’s] a fun thing to have a character that we haven’t had on screen in over a decade show up again in the MCU. And to see fans on that little tag of the trailer recognize that and embrace that is great fun."
According to other rumours about the upcoming movie, it is said to have close ties to 'Iron Man' as well as 'Doctor Strange'. The appearance of the character Wong (played by Benedict Wong) signifies that as one of Earth’s protectors, he's fighting Abomination in order to prevent these mythical Ten Rings from getting into the wrong hands. Speculation is rife that these weapons will be the prize for a tournament in the movie.
But where has the villain been all of this time? Did he manage to escape the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility while Hydra took over? We'll have to wait for the Abomination answers until 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' releases in cinemas on September 3.
