Simu Liu's casting in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a pivotal moment in his career. He was going to play the lead character in the first Asian-led superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, representing a segment of the audience that had felt ignored thus far. Despite being told to keep the news confidential, Liu has now revealed that he couldn’t keep his casting a secret for too long.
Marvel Studios has always made a big deal about its castings, and new members of the MCU are usually introduced to the press and fans at large events. The same was in store for Liu and the studio had planned to announce his casting in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at Comic-Con in San Diego. However, within minutes after he spoke to Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, who delivered the news, Liu got on the phone with his best friend and shared the huge secret.
Liu recently learned that his Barbie co-star Ncuti Gatwa had been cast in Doctor Who and was surprised that he managed to keep his casting a secret for months. Speaking to Variety, the Kim's Convenience star revealed that if he was holding onto such crucial information for two months, he “would have combusted.” During his conversation with Feige about being cast as Shang-Chi, Liu was told that he would be flown to San Diego “in four days” for the big reveal and was asked to “keep [his] mouth shut until then.” But, he failed.
Trying to keep his casting a surprise, Feige reiterated that Liu shouldn’t even share the news with his family and friends. The actor confessed that Feige wanted to “surprise the world” when they made the official announcement at Comic Con. However, within a few minutes after this very important conversation, Liu was spilling the beans. “It’s too big of news to keep with you,” he said. After joining the MCU, Liu did realize that most of the actors were much better at keeping secrets about the projects that they worked on, “maybe not Tom Holland” though. The Spider-Man: No Way Home star is notorious for revealing spoilers.
Shang-Chi was loved by both fans and critics. The film earned $432.2 million at the international box office, which might seem low compared to other more popular MCU projects, but it received great reviews from around the world. It is one of Marvel Studios' most popular films based on its 98% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The studio was appreciated for hiring a mostly Asian cast, with many MCU fans finally feeling represented on the big screen.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Variety