Shang-Chi Star Simu Liu Credits Black Panther for His Marvel Success

When Black Panther debuted it knocked the doors off at the box office, bringing in over $1 billion [...]

By Spencer Perry

When Black Panther debuted it knocked the doors off at the box office, bringing in over $1 billion worldwide and out-grossing Avengers: Infinity War domestically. The film would also go on to bring Marvel Studios their first Academy Awards and officially got the studio started on focusing on their non-white heroes. The upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is poised to fit a similar bill, putting the focus on Marvel first Asian hero to lead a solo movie with a creative team behind the camera that is eager to bring a similar level of respect to the material that Ryan Coogler did with Black Panther. In an interview, Shang-Chi himself Simu Liu says he and the movie wouldn't have happened without that success of that Chadwick Boseman lead film.

"It was such a great statement to the powers that be in Hollywood to say: 'We're here, and we've been here, and we love watching movies that represent us, that represent our faces and our stories and our lives,'" Liu told TIME, further crediting Crazy Rich Asians along with the Marvel Studios movie. "Without the success of Black Panther, I wouldn't have a job today."

Liu added, "I can be someone I didn't have as a kid. I loved comics as a kid, I loved superheroes, but I really didn't see myself represented in that space. I really hope with this movie, kids who are like me, who grew up similarly, can have that. That's really the power of representation: seeing yourself on screen and feeling like you're a part of this world, which for Asian children who have grown up in the West hasn't always been the case."

Joining Liu in the film are Tony Leung (Wenwu), Awkwafina (Katy), Meng'er Zhang (Xialing), Michelle Yeoh (Jiang Nan), Ronny Chieng (Jon Jon), Fala Chen (Jiang Li), and Florian Munteanu (Razor Fist). Destin Daniel Cretton stepped behind the camera as director, both he and Eternals director Chloé Zhao are set to release their films this year and mark the first Asian directors to helm Marvel Studios movies.

"I grew up without a superhero to look up to. I gravitated to Spider-Man when I was a kid, primarily because he had a mask covering his face and I could imagine myself under that mask," Cretton said recently. "I would love to give my son a superhero to look up to. I feel very privileged to be a part of telling that story."

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is currently scheduled for release on July 9th.

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