The star of the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings once criticized Marvel for its lack of diversity in the MCU in a tweet that has now become amusing in hindsight. 

Shang-Chi is a martial arts-themed hero who debuted in the '70s as a reaction to the success of the Kung Fu TV show. There have been several attempts to make a movie involving Shang-Chi for years, with Marvel Studios planning on making a film about him back in 2006 as part of its deal with Paramount Pictures. Shang-Chi will be hitting the big screen in 2021, as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be part of Phase 4 of the MCU; and it was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 that Simu Liu would be playing Shang-Chi, which will make him the first Asian lead of an MCU film.

Related: Shang-Chi Casts Tony Leung As The MCU's Real Mandarin

It seems that Liu was ready to address a message he wrote on his Twitter page concerning the lack of diversity in the MCU, as he quickly responded to a tweet he made in 2014 concerning the lack of an Asian-American hero. This is the second time that one of Liu's tweets became relevant, as he tweeted about the role of Shang-Chi when he was lobbying to be part of the movie back in 2018. Check out the tweet below:

Simu Liu was born in China and raised in Canada, but there is still a question as to what Shang-Chi's nationality will be. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will likely be set in Australia, as that is where the bulk of the filming is set to take place, which means that there is a good chance that Shang-Chi could be Australian.

The MCU was often criticized for its lack of diversity during the first few movies, especially as the original lineup of the Avengers was composed entirely of caucasian actors, and only one of them was female. As the MCU grew in scope, there was more of an effort made to diversify the cast and crew of the films, even with the occasional controversy relating to whitewashing, as was the case with Tilda Swinton playing the role of Ancient One in Doctor Strange. Joe Russo talked about the effort to make the MCU the gold standard for diversity earlier this year, while Kevin Fiege has mentioned that the success of Black Panther emboldened Marvel to make more diverse movies. Fiege also revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that Valkyrie will be the first LGBTQ hero in the MCU and that her sexuality will be part of the story of Thor: Love and Thunder. 

Next: What Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings' Movie Title Means

Source: Simu Liu

Key Release Dates