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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: How Simu Liu has paved the way for Asian-American actors in Marvel

This is a tweet from actor Simu Liu in 2014, now the lead role in Marvel’s newest project: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Over the course of its 4 phases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to life with trilogies of their own. Shang-Chi, although a solo movie and the 24th of the universe’s saga, has the potential to be the most impactful film yet. 

Simu Liu: From Car Salesman to Martial Arts Master

Prior to being cast as Shang-Chi, actor Simu Liu was primarily known for his role in the Asian Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience. This show addresses the hardships of a Korean family as they adjust to life in Canada and face racial and cultural hardships as convenience store owners. Playing the role of older brother and car salesman Jung, Simu was a recurring character for all 5 seasons of the show.

Many credit Kim’s Convenience for paving the way for other Asian men and women in the acting and directing industry. Since Kim’s Convenience, we have been introduced to films such as Crazy Rich Asians, Always Be My Maybe, and Parasite. Marvel’s next project, Eternals, will feature Chinese director Chloe Zhao, the first person of color to have won the Academy Award for best director. 

 

The Ten Rings: Marvel’s past, present, and future

Shang-Chi made his first appearance in “Special Marvel Edition” No. 15, published by Marvel Comics in 1973, and had a comic book series until the early ’80s. While this is as far as Shang-Chi’s character has been developed, elements of his story have found themselves in Marvel movies, building up to his solo film.

In the comics, the 10 rings are literally 10 physical rings with magical properties worn by a villain called the Mandarin. In the movies, “Ten Rings” is the name of the Middle Eastern terrorist group that kidnapped Tony Stark in the pilot film of the franchise, Iron Man. The ten rings appear once again in the Iron Man trilogy, this time in Iron Man 3 in the form of the Mandarin. It is later discovered that the villain, played by Ben Kingsley, is only pretending to be the Mandarin while fighting Tony Stark. Kingsley, set to play a role in Shang-Chi, will give the viewers a satisfying end to an 8-year story.

 

Asian Representation: From Cast to Crew

In an interview, Simu Liu expressed the importance of representation both behind the camera and on-screen. “What really helped us in defining these different backgrounds for these characters was casting actors who fully understood their characters … and seeing who really understands what it means to have one foot in Western culture and one foot still in Chinese culture”. This is in reference to directors Daniel Cretton and Dave Callaham, who are both Asian American, along with actors Awkwafina and Ronny Chieng. Together, the cast and crew of Shang-Chi look to change the way they are perceived in the film industry and inspire a future generation of Asian Americans.