SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

Meet Marvel’s kung fu master…

DIRECTOR DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON STARRING SIMU LIU, AWKWAFINA, TONY LEUNG

ETA FEBRUARY 2021 TBC

the marvel Cinematic universe gets its first asian superhero with the arrival of Shang-Chi And The Legend

Of The Ten Rings. Chinese-Canadian actor simu liu, whose breakout role came in the sitcom Kim’s Convenience, will limber up as the master of kung Fu, joined by Crazy Rich Asians star awkwafina, and Infernal Affairs actor tony leung as the villainous mandarin. as in the real mandarin, not the decoy played by trevor slattery (ben kingsley) in Iron Man 3.

liu has made no secret of his desire to play the superhero. back in 2014, he tweeted marvel asking, “now how about an asian-american hero?” and soon after the project was announced in december, he tweeted again, “are we gonna talk or what?” marvel obviously took notice, although getting a leading role in a superhero movie isn’t quite as simple as just tweeting the studio. “it’s been a really in-depth search to try to find somebody who will capture this character with all the dimensions that he deserves,” says director destin daniel Cretton (Short Term 12). liu describes landing the gig as “just the craziest, craziest dream” – he was cast four days before Comic-Con.

originally created to capitalise on the martial arts craze in the 1970s, the former spy has the finesse of James bond combined with the kickass fighting skills of bruce lee (his appearance was modelled on the legendary star). and though he’s about to make his film debut, this story has been seeded right since the beginning of the mCu, with the nefarious mandarin’s ten rings teased since Iron Man. it’s about time.