Simu Liu wants fans to stop asking him if he’ll show up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This past year saw the Kim’s Convenience star join the MCU as the franchise’s newest leading superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The movie’s post-credits scene even saw Shang-Chi begin to buddy up with the Avengers, as he got to meet Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and even went for karaoke with Wong (Benedict Wong).
As he and Wong are now good pals, this has led to much speculation that the martial arts master could return in this spring’s Doctor Strange 2. It looks like we can officially say that this isn’t going to happen, though, as Liu has got so tired of telling people that he’s not in it that he made it part of his new year’s message to his fans on social media.
Liu took to his Instagram story on New Year’s Eve to share a few words. “To the most incredible year of my life,” he wrote. “Let’s do it all over again in 2022.” He then changed tack and took a moment to plead with his followers: “Please stop asking me if I’ll be in Doctor Strange 2 I honestly do not know how much more clear I can be.” Liu signed off by adding, “I love you guys though. Best fans ever.”
If Liu’s telling the truth, then, it looks like he’s yet to share the screen with Benedict Cumberbatch. When that time comes, it’ll likely be a big moment for the actor as he memorably geeked out big time about getting to meet the Sorcerer Supreme star back at Comic-Con 2019, which saw him announced to the world as the MCU’s Shang-Chi.
While Shang-Chi might not be turning up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, coming to theaters this May, plenty of other familiar faces no doubt will be, given that it’s about to blow the doors to the Marvel multiverse wide open. Likewise, Simu Liu will return for Shang-Chi 2, which is in development, although it’s yet to be given a release date.