Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now unlikely to get released in China due to comments from star Simu Liu a few years back. With China being one of the world’s largest box-office markets, every studio is desperate for access to their audiences. But getting permission to release films in the Middle Kingdom seems to be getting more difficult as time goes on.

The last film that Disney was able to get into Chinese theaters was Free Guy, which has performed admirably in the marketplace. The last theatrical Marvel release, Black Widow, has still not been released in China and it is looking less and less likely that it will be. The status quo for many studios is to make sure there is nothing controversial that might anger the Chinese government enough for them to block the film, a difficult proposition when so many creatives have strong opinions about the nation.

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Deadline is reporting that comments made by Liu have recently resurfaced and are likely to prevent Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings from being released in China. The comments were made back in 2017 during an interview with the CBC, wherein Liu spoke of his parents telling him about living in a Communist society. Specifically, Liu referred to China as a “third world” country and claimed that people there were “dying of starvation.

Meng'er Zhang as Xialing Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, and Awkwafina as Katy

Currently, the interview is making its way across Chinese social media, which is bad news for Disney’s chances of getting Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings into that market. It is a similar situation to what is going on with another upcoming Marvel film The Eternals and its director Chloe Zhao. Similar to Liu, Zhao also has some older comments on record about China, which already prevented her award-winning film Nomadland from releasing in China, and will likely prevent The Eternals from going there as well.

It is a dicey situation at best. Trying to play entirely to the Chinese government’s sensibilities may end up stifling many creatives, but not playing by their rules could end up costing studios a lot a money. And at the end of the day, Hollywood is still a business, and it is all about the bottom line. However, in the case of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the other 2021 MCU films so far, Disney may just have to accept their losses and hope for better luck in the future.

More: Shang-Chi & Free Guy Underscore Disney's Black Widow Mistake

Source: Deadline