“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is about a lot more than the character Simu Liu portrays.
Liu caught up with SiriusXM’s Jessica Shaw for “Pop Culture Spotlight” to talk about the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The two dished on how important the female characters – portrayed by actresses like Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen and Michelle Yeoh – are to the movie.
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“I think it’s definitely something that we all wanted to be a part of our story was this idea that this movie is called ‘Shang-Chi’, but let’s surround him with these incredible female characters that don’t just exist to further his own character growth or his own development. Let’s really make sure this movie isn’t about one Asian superhero but about five, six or seven.”
Liu also touched on the nature of the relationship between his character, Shang-Chi, and Awkafina’s character, Katy (Warning: Minor spoilers below).
“I think was just to explore what this really amazing friendship was,” he said. “I think it’s very, very clear from the get-go that these two are really good, really health best friends with an awesome relationship. Whether or not that involves beyond a platonic sense in a future project, that is beyond me.”
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“I’m glad that we didn’t go there in this movie. I think first of all it would be a distraction from what was at the emotional core, which was a story about family. I also think these two are just really incredible the way that they are. I’m sorry ‘When Harry Met Sally’ fans, but I do believe that men and women can be non-romantic friends. I certainly have many.”
“Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” premieres Sept. 3 in theatres.
