Unless you’re a fan of Kim’s Convenience, then the chances are high you wouldn’t have been familiar with Simu Liu at all until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings released last year, with the actor now one of the hottest young stars in the industry.
That comes with the territory when you headline a wildly successful and acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster, and the franchise didn’t waste any time anointing him as the newest Avenger, with Shang-Chi’s membership confirmed before his first debut had even finished its opening weekend.
A sequel is already in development, and while it sounds as though we won’t be seeing him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Liu teased what he wants to see happen next in an interview with Complex.
“I think just what Shaun decides to do with all this newfound power, you know? It kind of consumed his father, consumed Wenwu. I’m curious as to how someone much younger, much more inexperienced, would fare against the rings. Just this idea of all of a sudden being gifted something that’s so powerful but also so dangerous.
And then the other big question I have is, you know, in what way does Shaun fit in with the rest of the MCU? Who are you going to see? What kind of crazy team-ups? What kinda tie-ins, Easter eggs? I’m just as much in the dark and everyone else, so I don’t know anything, but I’m excited to dive into that process.”
Thanks to the martial arts prowess he displayed in Shang-Chi, Liu is arguably the closest thing the MCU has to an old-school action hero that can do the majority of their own stunt work and look completely convincing in the process. That’s going to prove a huge asset for the 32-year-old moving forward, as he continues to establish himself as one of the most important cogs in the machine throughout Phase Four and beyond.