Marvel has cast its first Asian superhero, and the starring actor’s clearly had the role on his wish list for years.
Simu Liu, who plays Jung in the Canadian sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” will be depicting Shang-Chi in the upcoming superhero film “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
While his role was announced on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, Liu has been lobbying Marvel for an Asian superhero for quite some time, with tweets going back to 2014.
In 2016, he pointedly hinted “I love capes” in a tweet that said, “we deserve to have an Asian superhero.” He continued tweeting about his goal afterward.
There’s also this prophetic, shirtless tweet.
In late 2018, when discussions of “Shang-Chi” casting were ramping up, Liu tweeted Marvel once again. And when his casting was officially announced, he brought it all full circle.
Since the news broke, Liu reiterated how culturally significant the role would be.
“Now that the craziness is over, the work begins,” he tweeted. “There is so much at stake here; We are fighting for our identity, for our right to be seen, to belong.”
So far, it’s been announced that Tony Leung will play the villain The Mandarin, and Asian-American director Destin Daniel Cretton will helm the project. Awkwafina will also be involved in the film, but her role has not yet been announced.