Simu Liu says that the role of the Marvel superhero Shang-chi in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the next big iteration in the MCU. Liu’s description of the superhero has obtained a positive reaction among critics which is 92 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Some confess it is one of the best standalone entries in the MCU so far.
Apart from being an overall fun, and fascinating film with superbly framed action sequences, it also provides a much-needed upgrade to the superhero.
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Liu, while talking to Indianexpress.com, explained that while he read Shang-Chi comics before the shooting to know what his character was. Dustin (director) advised him that they needed to create a whole new character who just happens to have that name.
The actor explained that there are “certain things” in the actual Shang-Chi comics that will not work presently from an Asian-American standpoint.
“Those comics were written by white people. And they didn’t necessarily understand an authentic Asian-American experience. So the character that came out… never seemed like he was three-dimensional. He was very serious, spoke mostly mystical proverbs and, didn’t feel fleshed out. So we crafted this all-new character and story. And it was this story about a family that we thought was more important than then chasing after comic books or being authentic to the source material.”
Liu also said the sheer happiness of portraying what is a unique character, is despite the stereotypical way it was written. He said wearing the outfit for the first time felt “incredible”.
“I knew how rare it was to have an Asian person putting on a superhero outfit, there hasn’t been that many,” he gushed, adding, “I enjoyed putting on the suit also because it was brand new. It was not like based on anything in the comics. I think it symbolises our new origin story and that we were able to refresh this 50-year, a little outdated character. I’m excited for the world to see it.”
Also featuring Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, and Michelle Yeoh, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to come out on Friday.