Simu Liu took to social media to call out the lack of representation and opportunity for Asian actors in Tinseltown. The actor pointed to a handful of Asian-led films that were majorly successful, following up by accusing studios of thinking the projects are financially dangerous.
“Put some asians in literally anything right now. the amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f**king appalling… Every single one a financial success. No asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead.
We’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system. and most days it SUCKS.”
The actor specifically pointed to his own film Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, also naming: Minari, Farewell, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Crazy Rich Asians as box office successes. Limu has been outspoken on this topic before, back in 2023 going against accusations of cornering the market on Asian roles. He pointed out that there shouldn’t be any sort of imposed cap on roles for actors of Asian descent, emphasizing that the bulk of roles he has taken were not written Asian. Rather, he has done what he can to transform stories to grow the scope of representation on the silver screen.
Simu Liu has consistently displayed an interest in reprising his role as Shang-Chi in a sequel for Marvel, although no serious announcements as to development of the project have been announced after the original films’ 2021 release. The actor will have the opportunity to reprise his role for the first time in the upcoming Marvel film Avengers: Doomsday in 2026.
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