Simu Liu has responded to Disney CEO Bob Chapek's statement that and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an "interesting experiment" for the company. The film is the second of four Marvel titles to be released this year after last month's Black Widow. It launches Liu into the MCU as the titular superhero, a skilled martial artist who was trained to be an assassin since boyhood. His father, Wenwu, is the real "Mandarin" villain referenced in Iron Man 3. Liu stars alongside veteran actors Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, and Awkwafina.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to hit theaters on Sept. 3. Speaking at the Disney Q3 Earnings Call on Thursday, Chapek confirmed that Shang-Chi will have an exclusive theatrical release for 45 days before heading to streaming. This is a departure from the hybrid day-and-date release of films that were shown during the pandemic, including Cruella and Black Widow. The Disney CEO called Shang-Chi's theater-only premiere an "interesting experiment."
Now, Liu has seemingly called out Chapek's remarks in an emotional post on Twitter. Sharing some behind-the-scenes pictures that featured his Asian castmates, the Shang-Chi star boldly said they are not an experiment. Instead, Liu stated that they are "underdogs" and "underestimated." He ended his post by promising to make history on the film's premiere on Sept. 3. Liu also took to his Instagram, directly quoting Chapek's "interesting experiment"remarks. Read Liu's tweet below:
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Interestingly, the theater-only release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings comes amid a spike of new COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant. It also comes amid Scarlet Johansson's controversial Black Widow lawsuit against the company for how it handled the day-and-date distribution of that movie. However, it appears that Disney wanted to push a theater-only release for Shang-Chi under the assumption that the pandemic would be more controlled by the fall. Disney execs didn't anticipate the virus' new surge and as Chapek explained in his speech, it is now logistically too late to change the movie's release strategy.
Without the pandemic, a theater-only release will definitely make Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings a major cultural event. However, at this point, many moviegoers, especially those with children, may be less than thrilled to go to the cinemas and put their health at risk. While Liu is fighting to showcase his culture on the global scene, this will surely dampen the profitability of Liu's MCU debut. Despite this, it is important to note that Shang-Chi has already made history as the first superhero movie to have an Asian lead and a predominantly Asian-American cast. Even without the box office numbers, this is already a remarkable feat worth celebrating.
