When Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings premiered a handful of years ago, the titular superhero seemed like he was destined to become one of the new faces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film earned positive reviews and was a box office success (earning $432.2 million worldwide as theaters were still recovering from the pandemic), quickly establishing Shang-Chi as a fan-favorite character. Despite that reception, a Shang-Chi sequel hasn’t yet come to fruition, but Shang-Chi himself will return in Avengers: Doomsday. It’s been a long time since star Simu Liu has graced the screen in a Marvel movie, so unsurprisingly, Shang-Chi has changed quite a bit since we last saw him.
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In an interview with ComicBook to promote his new sci-fi show The Coppenhagen Test, Liu addressed his role in Doomsday and how Shang-Chi is different now. “I think time. He’s older. I think I’m older, so getting to bring a little bit more of a quality of self-assurance is always great, especially because Shang was such a fish out of water,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a jump in time, so I think we’ll meet him at a place where he’s feeling a little more lived in with who he is and his responsibilities.”
Liu also revealed why he’s being cautious when it comes to sharing Doomsday details. “I never know when something I say is going to get picked up into a soundbite,” he said. “I think I was freezing cold on the rooftop of the Empire State Building and they were like, ‘What about his costume?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, it’s new.’ It just became an unstoppable maelstrom of messed up lines. I am very reserved about what to say about it now.”
Avengers: Doomsday Was a Very Different Experience for Simu Liu
In addition to playing an older, self-assured Shang-Chi, Doomsday was a different experience for Liu in another way. Comparing the Marvel blockbuster to his work on The Coppenhagen Test, Liu seemed to enjoy the fact that he wasn’t as active behind the scenes on Doomsday. “What I will say coming out of an experience where I was an executive producer, and so active in all of the elements of the filmmaking, it was really cool to be able to surrender to the process, knowing I was going to be part of this huge regime,” he said. “As much ownership that I felt over the character, knowing that character was just a small part of this huge tapestry, it was really refreshing, especially coming off of a show like Copenhagen Test. Again, so happy and so privileged to have been a more active leader there. But it is great to be able to take a break and go on vacation from that.”
Doomsday has a lot on its plate it needs to properly balance, but Shang-Chi’s long-awaited return is arguably one of the most exciting aspects of the film. It’ll be interesting to see how much the character has grown since his last MCU appearance. His solo movie was very much an origin story. “Fish out of water” is a great way to describe Shang-Chi in that film, as he had to reconcile with his past and go on a journey of self-discovery to figure out his place in the world. Now that he has fully embraced who he is, it sounds like Shang-Chi will be a much more confident and powerful hero when he shows up in Doomsday.
Whatever exploits Shang-Chi has been up to since his solo movie, it appears that he has caught the attention of other notable MCU heroes. Shang-Chi’s exact role in Doomsday is being kept under wraps for the time being, though a recent presentation at a Disney marketing event implied he’s a member of Sam Wilson’s Avengers team. Captain America: Brave New World ended with Sam deciding to restart Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and he’s obviously going to need more than just Joaquin Torres at his side. A confident Shang-Chi, bolstered by the power of the Ten Rings would be a valuable addition to Sam’s group, so it’s certainly plausible Captain America tracked him down.
It’s disappointing that Shang-Chi still hasn’t received his much-deserved sequel, as that would be a much better opportunity to further flesh out his character. With the size of the Doomsday ensemble, the fear is some actors are going to be short-changed, but hopefully Liu is able to leave his mark as the new and improved Shang-Chi. He could have a fairly sizable role to play, seeing that he previously raved about his experience working with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (meaning Shang-Chi spends some time with the X-Men). Though Doomsday was a massive undertaking for all involved, it’s easy to see why Liu had “fun” shooting his scenes.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
