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Shang-Chi Will Be Played By Simu Liu In 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The 10 Rings,' Which Will Introduce The Real Mandarin [Comic-Con 2019]

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By Hoai-Tran Bui

Marvel Studios' first Asian feature film protagonist will be making his debut in the highly anticipated Shang-Chi, which is set to be directed by Short Term 12's Destin Daniel Cretton. While little is known yet about what Shang-Chi will be about, Marvel teased some more details at its all-encompassing San Diego Comic-Con panel. Find out what we learned at about Shang-Chi at Comic-Con.

Kevin Feige announced the title for the Shang-Chi solo movie will be Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, harkening back to the terrorist group that kidnapped Iron Man at the very beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director Destin Daniel Cretton arrived onstage to announce the actor playing the titular superhero is Simu Liu, a Chinese-Canadian actor best known for his role in the hit sitcom Kim's Convenience.

"It's been a very in-depth search to find somebody who captures this character with all the dimensions he deserves," Cretton said before bringing Liu onstage to raucous applause.

"I was cast on Tuesday, I screen-tested Sunday in New York and this is just the craziest dream. I can't describe how I feel right now," Liu said after charming the audience with a speech in Chinese .

Liu will be joined by Tony Leung as the Mandarin and Awkwafina in an unknown role.

"I grew up with friends that were Japanese, Chinese, Korean...that's the norm in Hawaii. It's amazing to see Kevin and his team create an MCU that reflects all the beautiful colors that we see in this room," Cretton said.

Created by Jim Starlin and Steve Englehart in the early 1970s, around the time when Enter the Dragon kicked off a global martial arts phenomenon, Shang-Chi fed into a lot of Asian stereotypes of the time. A "Master of Kung Fu" who is fast enough to dodge bullets, the superhero eventually gains the power to create an infinite number of duplicates of himself. With this new iteration, Marvel will reportedly "modernize the hero to avoid stereotypes that many comic characters of that era were saddled with," something the studio hopes to achieve with Chinese-American screenwriter Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2, The Expendables) and half-Japanese Cretton heavily involved.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to hit theaters on February 12, 2021.

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