Sydney — Actor Simu Liu was concerned that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings would not be completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Liu, 32 will play the titular role in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie which is scheduled for release in September after a couple of delays as a result of the global pandemic but he feared that the movie would not come to fruition after the production in Sydney was halted.
Speaking to ComicBook.com: “It’s just been such a long fight with this movie. We shot in Sydney over the course of 13 to 14 months, we shut down for four months in the middle when the whole world shut down, and there was a time where we weren’t sure whether we were going to be able to finish it.
“Even when we started back up and had Covid testing and protocols and all of that, we didn’t know if we would make it to the finish line. It’s just such an incredible feeling to know we did and to know this movie is now ready for people to watch.”
Simu Liu will become the first actor of Asian descent to lead a Marvel movie where he plays Shang Chi and was honoured to be given the part, according to 8days.sg.
He said: “It’s been a wild ride. I mean, those parts don’t just come upon those people like me and it’s such an incredible honour to be put in that position at the beginning.”
The Kim’s Convenience star also revealed at the recent Jungle Cruise premiere a piece of advice he received from Tom Hiddleston on being part of the MCU.
“I’ve had a wonderful conversation with Tom Hiddleston the day I was announced at Comic-Con [in 2019],” he told Variety. “And he, was so great. He was just such a gentle human. The kind of person to just kind of get your head straight.
“He was like, ‘You’ve got to enjoy it. You’ve just got to accept the good with all the other stuff. Just accept the fact that if you go on vacation somewhere to some random island that people are going to know where you’re from. Because that is how far-reaching and pervasive that Marvel movies are.’
“There’s something really beautiful about that but there’s a different lifestyle that you have to grow very accustomed to. But, I’m really excited everyone has been so phenomenal. Very welcoming so far. It feels like I’m joining a beautiful family.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in Singapore cinemas on Sept 2./TISG