The Marvel Cinematic Universe is making history with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this weekend, the first film to feature a lead superhero of Asian descent portrayed by Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu.
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Known as Shaun, Liu's character lives a quiet life in San Francisco, until one day he is suddenly exposed to his supernatural abilities in martial arts, a skill he was trained for by his father. He soon reunites with his family and is forced to confront the demons and secrets that haunt them, while realizing the importance of his extraordinary capabilities. The film also stars comedian Awkwafina, Michelle Yu and Sir Ben Kingsley.
The film continues what the MCU refers to as Phase 4, setting the stage following the Avengers saga, which kicked off with Iron Man in 2008, and ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019. The new phase kicked off last July with Black Widow, the prequel following Scarlett Johansson's character. Yet the film struggled commercially amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions throughout the world.
Since 2008, Marvel has released 24 blockbuster films to resounding success, bringing in a cumulative $23B which made the MCU the highest-earning movie franchise in history, with "Star Wars" a distant second with less than half of that amount. Both franchises are owned by Disney Studios.
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was originally slated to release around the Chinese year in February, but its release was postponed due to pandemic constraints. Unlike Disney's previous pandemic era titles "Mulan" or "Cruella," which launched in theaters and their Disney+ streaming service simultaneously, the new Marvel offering will be exclusive to theaters for 45 days. T
Disney CEO Bob Chapek explained that this strategy offers "an interesting experiment" to better understand consumers today, to which the film's star Liu responded on Twitter, "We are not an experiment. We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprised".
While promoting the film, Liu said that "My nerves were sky-high. I was an actor from Toronto, and I really had never allowed myself to imagine being a part of the MCU. I mean, it's the craziest dream that someone can possibly dream."
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