Lewis Tan is no stranger to action, having racked up credits in projects like Mortal Kombat, Wu Assassins, and Cobra Kai. He's also been part of the Marvel Universe, playing Shatterstar in Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
The actor also had a small, albeit memorable role, in Netflix's Iron Fist as Zhou Cheng, a warrior serving The Hand who went one-on-one with Danny Rand. However, it turns out that Tan came close to playing Iron Fist in place of Finn Jones.
"You never know in the film industry. You do an audition, you do a callback, and a director’s meeting. When they start to ask about your schedule, that’s usually when you are getting down to the final mix. I would say it was close," the actor told ComicBook.com. "I don’t know how close, but it was close. Everything happens for a reason. The timing just wasn’t right for some reason."
"It ended up being a blessing because the character I did end up playing got a lot of attention. I know some fans were pushing for me to be that character and some fans were pushing against it," he said of Iron Fist. "For me, it was like, 'When can we finally get an Asian superhero?' This was way before Shang-Chi and Crazy Rich Asians, before it was trendy to allow those types of things."
Many fans believed that Iron Fist should be played by an Asian actor. However, there were perhaps just as many who argued that Danny's Caucasian heritage is a significant part of the character's story arc.
Since the show aired, Marvel Comics has introduced an Asian Iron Fist, Lin Lie (Danny's Marvel Universe role has been reduced somewhat).
Tan went on to say that he believes he also came close to playing the title character in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. "I auditioned for the first Shang-Chi and I got close to getting that role, too," he claimed. "It came down to me and Simu Liu and maybe one other person. Simu got the job, and that’s his baby. I haven’t really thought about [being in the sequel] too much."
"They did such a killer job on the first one. I know a lot of those guys on that action team. Andy Cheng, who I worked with on Into the Badlands," Tan continued. "Shang-Chi is Simu’s baby. I will let him handle that."
Depending on what Marvel Studios has planned for the Deadpool franchise, there's always a chance that we'll see Shatterstar again. If that does happen, Tan hopes to get more to do with the character and told the site that he'd like to explore the character's connection to Mojoworld.
We don't know what the plan is for Iron Fist in the MCU, though a much earlier version of the Living Weapon appeared in Marvel Animation's Eyes of Wakanda earlier this year. As for Shang-Chi, Liu will reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday next December.
Do you think Tan would have been a good fit for Iron Fist or Shang-Chi in the MCU?