The Avengers: Doomsday trailer has packed enough multiversal mayhem into its runtime to make Doctor Strange reach for a headache tablet. As realities tear apart, New York crumbles, the X-Mansion stares down a red-sky apocalypse, and Doctor Doom raises an army of Sentinels. Yet, amid the incursion-sized chaos, Shang-Chi and Gambit instantly steal attention by clashing inside Xavier’s school, with the Ten Rings deflecting kinetically charged cards.

Thankfully, the real-life atmosphere was far less tense, with Simu Liu revealing what it was like working alongside Channing Tatum.

Simu Liu has revealed that Channing Tatum did not exactly let Shang-Chi coast through their Avengers: Doomsday showdown. Speaking in an official interview with Marvel at Comic-Con, Liu explained that seeing Tatum move during their first fight rehearsal immediately raised the bar. Gambit, it seems, came armed with more than kinetically charged playing cards.

"Forced me to bring my A-game," Simu Liu said, describing how Channing Tatum challenged him during their extensive fight choreography and rehearsals. Rather than leaving the physicality to stunt doubles, both actors were deeply committed to owning the action themselves. That shared dedication turned their superhero clash into a genuine battle of who could bring more to the table. 

In the official Marvel interview at Comic-Con, Simu Liu also highlighted how unusual and valuable that shared commitment was. Not every actor insists on doing so much of the physical work themselves, but both performers clearly wanted to be inside the fight rather than merely watch it happen. For Shang-Chi and Gambit, that commitment could make their brief clash especially explosive.

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Although Shang-Chi and Gambit have never exactly been comic-book besties, functioning more as coworkers who knew the other existed, Avengers: Doomsday could finally give them a chance to change that.

Shang-Chi and Gambit have never exactly had a buddy-comedy dynamic in the comics, but Avengers: Doomsday seems ready to give them one by way of a multiversal punch-up. Their first meeting begins with a clash outside the X-Mansion, as the trailer teased, pitting Gambit’s bo staff and kinetically charged cards against Shang-Chi’s martial arts and Ten Rings. Naturally, friendship begins with property damage.

Yet if Avengers: Doomsday can bring together three universes, turn former foes into allies, and potentially rope in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it can certainly turn this squabble into a surprising bromance. Simu Liu has already teased that Shang-Chi and Gambit will move beyond their initial misunderstanding, making their unexpected clash one of the film’s most promising new dynamics.

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Were you impressed by how Channing Tatum and Simu Liu positively challenged each other? Let us know in the comments!