Despite gaining success in the MCU by starring as a lead role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simu Liu gets candid that the franchise didn’t open more doors for him, to his surprise.
Here's what the actor had to say!
Shang-Chi Star Remembers Uncertainty Around the Origin Story’s Release
Even though he had booked high-profile projects, including Barbie, Atlas, and Last Breath, Simu believes that it’s “a lot harder” to land major projects “than if you were white.”
“Maybe that’s a controversial thing to say or a hot take,” Simu told The Hollywood Reporter, “But I’ve watched a lot of actors’ careers over the past few years since I’ve had my moments.”
The Kim’s Convenience star is well aware that landing an MCU role almost always leads to more “No. 1 roles”, but it didn’t happen to him.
“I don’t mean to say that I was the reason why [Shang-Chi] succeeded,” the actor acknowledged, “Yes, it was a Marvel movie, but it was a completely unknown hero within that universe and had very little to do with the other characters. It’s a self-contained origin story.”
Simu added that while he’s grateful he landed The Copenhagen Test as his first lead role since Shang-Chi, he still recalled the uncertainty around that release in 2021.
“I just remember there was so much uncertainty around that release. Our industry is so obsessed with tracking and estimates, and we were getting such low estimates.” So much so that former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek made calls of his own.
Simu added, “[Bob] Chapek was going on investor calls and being like, ‘It’s an experiment.’” which surprisingly took a turn for the better in expanding the billion-dollar franchise.
Will There Be a Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 2?
Considering that the Shang-Chi movie became the highest-grossing film of 2021 in the US (taking home over $224 million in the domestic box office and $432 million globally), could there be an upcoming sequel that Simu Liu knows of?
“They do call, I have no idea when they’re gonna call, and then we work it out. I loved what we did,” Simu said four years after Shang-Chi’s premiere, “People remind me of it every single day. When things succeed in this industry, no matter who’s the lead, I generally like to think that Hollywood is smart enough to do more of that…”
Marvel Studios initially had plans for a sequel called Shang-Chi and the Wreckage of Time. However, the sequel fell through when filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton boarded Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and eventually, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
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