Theory: Ninja Assassin Could Exist in the MCU

Just to be clear, Ninja Assassin was distributed by Warner Bros., but the content and the storyline could easily belong to the MCU if such permission was ever given since a lot of the movie is over the top and could even stand out as a rival to Shang-Chi in a way. It doesn’t feel accurate to say that Raizo could take Shang-Chi since, despite his ability to melt into the shadows and his insane fighting skills, it would be a heated debate to determine who had the greatest martial skill, and since more people know of Shang-Chi at this time, Raizo would be left out in the cold. But there are elements to the movie that would make it fit in just fine to the MCU despite the fact that it’s bloodier than Deadpool and would be a seriously hardcore movie that the MCU might not even be interested in given that it’s owned by Disney. Stranger things have happened, but prying a property away from Warner Bros. would probably be the hardest part of taking on such a movie since the competition doesn’t exactly need the help.  The unfortunate part is that this movie didn’t get a whole lot of credit when it came out for being an over the top ninja movie that was essentially an action movie that didn’t need a lot of exposition other than to show how and why Raizo had come to be who and what he was. The audience doesn’t get a lot of chances to learn that much about the ninjas that are housed and raised in the compound other than recognizing that they’re all orphans and that they’re all trained in a manner that could easily be called torture if it didn’t yield anything other than severe psychological and physical trauma over time. 

Throughout Raizo’s life, however, it’s shown that the torment he has to go through isn’t without a point, as he becomes physically and mentally tough, not to mention insanely alert at all times since he knows when another ninja is about and he knows how to handle himself with brutal efficiency. This is one of the reasons why it’s fair to state that even if he couldn’t beat him, Raizo could certainly give Shang-Chi a good fight. Plus, Raizo could fit into the MCU just fine as it’s already been established in Shang-Chi that the Ten Rings have rivals, so there’s nothing to say that there couldn’t be another clan of ninjas that were active in the region and knew better than to mess with the Ten Rings without good reason. It’s easy to state that Warner Bros. would never give this property up without demanding at least ten times what it’s worth, but it’s also kind of interesting to think of how Raizo might fit into the MCU if such a thing were to ever happen. There’s no doubt that he would be a street-level character, but at the same time he would be one of the toughest around since his shadow-walking ability and his weapons proficiency are amazing qualities that would instantly put him ahead of several established characters. But the trick would be to decide what he was all about since he’s technically not a villain, but he’s not exactly out solving crimes either. 

He’d likely be seated below characters such as Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi, but it would be fun to pit him against Daredevil and a few others to see how he might do. Out of the many characters that have come and gone over the years, Raizo is one of those that doesn’t appear to get enough credit for being an awesome character that does a great deal of damage to those he was raised with when he finally tires of their brutal ways. His story is kind of like Shang-Chi’s in a few ways, but without the actual family aspect, and Raizo definitely gets marked up more as he grows older, showing his scars from previous training bouts and fights that he’s undergone over the years. Shang-Chi at least had a support group that he could fall back on with his friend and her family, while Raizo had no one.  Also, when all is said and done, Raizo is more like a ninja crossed with the Punisher, since he has no interest in taking prisoners or sparing anyone that tries to kill him. It’s all revenge in Ninja Assassin, and Raizo doesn’t even care to hear his opponents talk as he goes about hacking them to pieces. The fact that this movie is owned by Warner Bros. and is extremely bloody feels like the two biggest reasons that it would never be adopted into the MCU, but if the stars aligned in just the right way it would still be a perfect addition.