Simu Liu made his MCU debut in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, though the character has since been sidelined. During his nearly five-year break from the role, the actor has further established himself with memorable performances in Barbie, Arthur the King, and Last Breath.
Shang-Chi and the Wreckage of Time may not have happened (a movie we've heard was set to connect the Ten Rings to a Kang Variant), but Liu will return as the Master of Martial Arts in next December's Avengers: Doomsday.
The hero is expected to be a member of Sam Wilson/Captain America's team. Plus, while filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton is busy working on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a Shang-Chi sequel could come our way in Marvel Studios' next Saga, given the first movie's critical and commercial success.
Talking to Variety, Liu once again expressed his excitement to have assembled alongside the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four.
"It was really awesome, exciting," he told the trade. "So many actors that I grew up watching, and to get to kind of play in that sandbox with them…it’s a dream come true. I grew up watching superhero movies and wanting to believe that the outcasts and the nerds and the weirdos could find it in themselves to have superpowers and save the day."
"That’s what 12-year-old me clung on to," Liu continued. "I still believe, for better or for worse, in the power of what those movies stand for today."
Despite often expressing frustration with Shang-Chi's absence before being added to the Avengers: Doomsday cast, Liu remains a steadfast supporter of the superhero movie genre.
"It’s kind of fashionable now to hate on it," he said. "I think there are valid critiques of the way that movies are made, the way that production budgets are handled, I think that there are a lot of valid things to say, but this idea of shitting on superhero movies as a genre, I don’t know. I don’t know I because I am speaking as somebody who just absolutely loved watching them as a kid."
While some will argue that Liu has a vested interest in defending the MCU, it's always great to see an actor from these movies speak out to defend them at a time when its detractors are taking such delight in crying, "superhero fatigue!"
Despite not making any live-action MCU appearances since 2021, Liu has reprised his role as Shang-Chi in Marvel Animation's What If...? and Marvel Zombies.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.