Was Simu Liu hired for Shang-Chi because of his tweet? Marvel finally responds

What started off as a simple tweet, which was the equivalent of Simu Liu 'shooting his shot' at Marvel, turned out to be rather prophetic.

Back in December 2018, when Marvel Studios announced that they were fast-tracking the film adaptation of Shang-Chi, the Canadian actor tweeted at Marvel.

It was a simple question that read: "Okay @Marvel, are we gonna talk or what? #ShangChi"

OK @Marvel, are we gonna talk or what #ShangChi

— Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@SimuLiu) December 3, 2018

Almost three years after, the 32-year-old actor (best known for his role as Jung on Kim's Convenience) is participating in the global press conference after scoring the role of the titular hero.

However, did that tweet clinch him the job or was he already on their radar?

When posed the question during the press conference last Friday (Aug 20), Simu exclaimed: "That's a great question! And I would love for Kevin [Feige] to answer this because you think that when you tweet at Marvel, it's going to some 19-year-old intern."

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige replied: "I did not see that, no."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOqV8ZYSnFI[/embed]

"Unfortunately, Simu, it was not your tweeting," he said in jest and added, "It was your acting ability, your constant professionalism, and the multiple reads and meetings that you did.

"Now, did Sarah Finn see that — our casting director — I don't know the answer to that question."

Another thing that could have possibly helped Simu's case? His recreation of the iconic Black Widow pose.

Yes, the "exact backflip that is the pose that's made fun of in Black Widow", shared director Destin Daniel Cretton.

"I mean, I thought it was like a good signature [move]... You know, if I could show them that I could pull off the superhero pose, I thought maybe that would help," explained Simu.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks0csb4tMwU[/embed]

Simu stars as Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) first Asian superhero Shang-Chi, who has to confront his past when a group of assassins steals a pendant that his mother gave him when he was young. Shang-Chi and his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) journey to Macau to warn Shang-Chi's sister Xialing (Zhang Meng'er) that danger is coming for her as well.

As the film unfolds, Shang-Chi is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organisation led by his estranged father, Wenwu/The Mandarin (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), and realises he must stop him and his Ten Rings cabal.

The film also stars veteran actress Michelle Yeoh, Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, Ronny Chieng, Yuen Wah, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, and Benedict Wong.

Working with legends

With a cast stacked with heavyweights like Tony, Michelle and Ben, Simu confessed to experiencing "imposter syndrome" during the shoot.

He said: "It was like imposter syndrome every single day. Truly, it was such a treat and it was all I could do just to not mess it up, you know. When I was first cast, I did my final screen test with Nora, and she did such a wonderful job of putting me at ease.

"My nerves were sky high. I was an actor from Toronto, and I really had never allowed myself to imagine being a part of the MCU. I mean, it's the craziest dream that someone can possibly dream.  And, Nora did such a great job of putting me at ease and just, you know, being in the moment with me and we had such a beautiful chemistry."

Speaking Mandarin in the film and the Asian experience

When it comes to bringing the Chinese culture to life, language plays an integral role as well.

Mandarin dialogue is weaved into the script organically and some of the characters — especially Tony's — have a huge chunk of it. 

Destin, 42, commented that the decision behind the inclusion of Mandarin was rooted in "the logic of the characters and who would naturally be speaking what language".

"These are all bilingual, trilingual, quadrilingual characters... So, we were constantly having the discussion of what made sense for the scene," he added.

Comedian Ronny Chieng, 35, also pointed out that you get to hear different Chinese accents from Simu, Meng'er and himself.

Kevin added that while they've worked very long to introduce Shang-Chi into the MCU, it was also important to bring "representation of another kind". He said: "That was really what Destin brought in his pitch. Which was yeah, action, cool, Marvel, but it was really the story of this father and son."

Didn't want to do a Marvel movie

Ironically, while Destin won over the head honcho at Marvel Studios — and seems to have hit a home run based on early reactions from critics — he admitted that he initially didn't want to do a Marvel movie.

"It was a few weeks before they announced that they were looking for directors for this movie that I made a very real decision and called my manager or my agent and said don't ever let me do a Marvel movie," he shared, adding that the announcement "sparked something in me" to accept a meeting with Marvel.

However, he feels personally connected to Shang-Chi's journey, a superhero that "doesn't get splashed with chemicals to get his superpower".

He said: "It is a journey of self-discovery, of growing up, of learning how to finally deal with pain that he's been running away from his entire life.  And when he is finally able to look inside his past and embrace good, bad, the joy, the pain, and accept it all as a part of himself, that's when he finally steps into his big boy shoes.

"I think that's kind of what we're all doing as humans in some way or another."

Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens only in cinemas on Sept 1.

bryanlim@asiaone.com