![]() The sweeping plot takes Shang-Chi and Katy to an underground fight club in neon-lit Macau run by his sister, Xialing (newcomer Meng’er Zhang), and ultimately beyond the earthly plane to the village of Ta Lo, an interdimensional land populated by warriors and connected to his late mother. When enemies attack, Shang-Chi reveals his true abilities and faces what he’s been hiding from: A villainous dad, mystical family legacies and his own dark secrets marred by trauma and loss. The film opens post-”blip” with a few nods to the larger MCU, with Shang-Chi living under the radar as “Shaun” and working as a San Francisco hotel valet with his slacker best friend Katy (Awkwafina). (The perfectly-executed backflip he landed in his audition didn’t hurt either.) His Shang-Chi is easygoing, capable and charismatic, and like many Asian Americans, torn between cultures - just not the ones you might think. And the quality that landed Liu the role of a lifetime, says Cretton, was the relatability he brought to the character, which they hope fans will connect with. That obscurity, however, is partly what allowed the filmmakers to rewrite Shang-Chi in their own vision. (July’s release of the female Avenger’s first solo film brought in $80 million domestic in its first weekend, and was also available on Disney+.) Projected to easily win the Labor Day weekend box office, “Shang-Chi” comes armed with stellar reviews and a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, but audiences are much less familiar with the character than, say, Black Widow. He’s focused on rallying audiences around the film, which could nudge the door open wider for inclusive stories to come - or not. Whether or not it was a “ misunderstanding,” as Marvel head Kevin Feige said - when smoothing over the pre-release bump at the film’s world premiere - Liu won’t confirm. Liu now has over 1 million followers on social media, and when Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently referred to its release strategy as “an interesting experiment,” the star subtweeted a rebuke: “We are not an experiment. Opening exclusively in theaters, “Shang-Chi” won’t arrive on the Disney+ streaming service for 45 days, a first for a Disney-produced film during COVID-19. He’s prepared for the moment and the responsibility that comes with visibility, using his platform to speak out for the Asian American community and readying to springboard his own projects.īut the stakes are high when you’re making history, even more so in a pandemic. Now Liu, 32, is seeing himself reflected in the biggest ways: on billboards, on posters and on the big screen in a wuxia-inflected superhero origin story filled with otherworldly heroics. “And how much more incredible would it be if I saw myself reflected on that screen in some way?” Times’ Asian Enough podcast ( listen to the full episode here). “You were starting to see the MCU forming into what it is today, feeling like, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible,’” Liu described on the L.A. What was behind that tweet all those years ago? A mix of frustration and desire familiar to anyone who’s ever felt pushed to the margins of pop culture, or culture at large. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (whose decidedly non-blockbuster resume includes “Short Term 12” and “Just Mercy”), “ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” sees Liu stepping into a career-making turn as the eponymous Shang-Chi, a hero running from the shadow of his warlord father (played by simmering Hong Kong screen icon Tony Leung). This week, after 24 films and over a decade, Marvel finally delivers its first Asian-led superhero stand-alone. “Now how about an Asian American hero?” Liu asked, tagging Marvel. (Actors named Chris were in high demand.) The blockbuster comics-inspired series was only making room for one kind of hero: white men. ![]() ![]() In the summer of 2014, Canadian actor Simu Liu - still a few years away from his breakout role on the comedy series “ Kim’s Convenience” - sent off a tweet to what he jokingly describes as “maybe 14 followers.”Īt the time, Iron Man already had three movies of his own in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. ![]()
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