Since Avengers: Endgame wrapped up The Infinity Saga in 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been giving fans a slew of brand new heroes to populate its movies and shows after some of the biggest players were taken off the board. So far, the MCU has given us She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and the Eternals, but among the most popular characters brought to the big screen in the past six years is Simu Liu as the titular martial arts master in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That said, he still only has one movie to his name, which is making fans antsy.
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After years of waiting for the character, Liu took on the role of Shang-Chi in the 2021 feature film and, since then, has been absent from the MCU. Though fans know that Liu will return for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, the anticipation is getting high. Speaking with ComicBook for the upcoming Netflix movie In Your Dreams, we had to ask Liu about his future as the Marvel hero. When asked how many sequels his character should get, Liu had a great answer, but to bring it full circle, he also reflected on working with his heroes in the MCU.
Simu Liu Is Committed to Being the MCU’s Shang-Chi for the Long Haul
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set up to three distinct plot threads for the character to explore in the future, not only his presence being acknowledged by the Avengers and working with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but also the source of his ten rings and their power. The third thread, of course, is Shang-Chi’s sister, Xialing, taking command of the Ten Rings organization. The good news is Liu is committed, as he told us: “I would keep doing (Shang-Chi sequels) as long as I as I physically could.”
To his credit, Liu opened up in our interview about how his commitment to not only acting but the long game of being a great performer was shaped by working with his fellow Marvel heroes. Liu noted that, like everyone else, he has idols that he idolizes, and he steps onto set every day hoping to match their abilities, despite being hypercritical of what he brings to the table every time.
“I was just in like quite a large Marvel movie with a lot of these actors, some of whom have been playing the same role for like over 20 years,” He said. “And I’m stepping into their world. I’m stepping into their characters, who they’ve owned and honed and developed for so long. And it’s everything I can do just to like stop myself from shaking. But the thought that kind of powers me is this: you’ve still got to show up and you’ve got to try your best. Try your best to get something usable in there and get out of your own way. I feel like a lot of times we use impostor syndrome or insecurity as an excuse not to show up.
He continued, “If we can just not make it about ourselves for a second and just focus on the work that you have to do. What is the objective? What is my objective as this character? Then you just take it a step at a time, and then hopefully when you do it for 40 years, someone will be looking at you and being like ‘Holy crap, what I would give to do work like that.’”
In Your Dreams arrives in theaters this Friday, November 7, and will premiere on Netflix next week on Friday, November 14.
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Image courtesy of 2th Century Studios -
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
