Over the weekend, Marvel Studios gave its Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, unleashing a smorgasbord of exciting news and surprising reveals for MCU fans. Among the things we learned at the panel was that actor Simu Liu had been cast as Marvel’s Master of Kung-Fu, Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Following the news of his casting, the Kim’s Convenience actor and future Shang-Chi had the best reactions to joining the MCU. Take a look:
News broke that Marvel was developing a Shang-Chi movie on December 3 of last year and that very day Simu Liu threw his name into the ring to play the character, letting Marvel know he was interested. Well, be careful what you wish for because, while not all social media campaigning for roles bears fruit, Simu Liu’s tweet certainly did. Not only did Marvel and Simu Liu talk, they also signed a deal.
Now the actor has the responsibility of taking on his biggest role yet in the world’s biggest franchise as a character that will mean a lot to a lot of people. “Well shit,” indeed, no pressure. If Simu Liu is feeling overwhelmed by the moment it’s understandable but his hilarious reaction shows he’s got the right attitude for it.
Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe means joining a vast machine that is populated with tons of other actors and Simu Liu got his first taste of that on the stage at Hall H, with all the other actors whose films and Disney+ series will make up the MCU’s Phase 4. There were Academy Award winners, famous movie stars and no shortage of gorgeous people, but for Simu Liu, one fellow MCUer stood out…
Hey, there’s no shame in that, Loki has tricked and bewitched many an Avenger and basically the entire viewing public. Hopefully that spell wears off because while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be a kung-fu movie, I don’t think Marvel wants to go the old school cheesy dubbed route due to the lead actor forgetting how to do the whole talking thing.
What’s especially great about Simu Liu’s casting and his reaction to it is how prescient he was to the Shang-Chi movie and his own casting. Take a look:
Simu Liu isn’t new to this; he’s true to this. Replying to his own tweet from 2014, the actor can’t help but laugh about his request for Marvel to introduce an Asian American hero. Someone replied to his tweet with the most appropriate of responses, an image of Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One from Avengers: Endgame telling Bruce Banner “You’re about five years too early.”
So it was also true for Simu Liu, who -- five years after that tweet -- will now be playing Shang-Chi. It’s almost as if Marvel has been listening this whole time. It has to be pretty surreal for the actor to look back at these tweets and see how these things that he put out there but surely didn’t expect to amount to much now seem truly prophetic for how things have worked out.
Lastly, Simu Liu expressed what it all felt like with a simple picture that says it all:
Marvel’s Comic-Con presentation was an unforgettable one for fans but also for Simu Liu, who had a pretty solid weekend for himself. Congrats are definitely in order and luckily for him, this is just the beginning.
Even if you’re unfamiliar with his comedic work on Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu’s Twitter game proves he’s well suited to the humor that along with the action and drama makes up Marvel Studios’ house style.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings kicks its way into theaters on February 12, 2021. For movies arriving just a bit sooner, check out our 2019 Release Schedule.
