Simu Liu may be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Asian superhero and leading man of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but above and beyond that, the 33-year-old actor is a Star Wars stan through and through. And he’s chomping at the bits to dip his toes into Lucasfilm’s waters.
Liu made his superhero debut in 2021 when Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings kicked off phase four of the MCU, fresh off the heels of Scarlett Johansson’s curtain call in Black Widow. The actor has been relatively low-key in the time since, a new romantic relationship and unintentional off-the-cuff comments about Chadwick Boseman, notwithstanding. His only acting credits have been two voiceovers, one of which was as the character Lah Zhima in the animated TV series Star Wars: Visions. Turns out, that was a dream role for Liu who has been a Star Wars fan since before he was even fluent in English, and is only a taste of what’s to come were he to have his druthers.
Moreover, before Liu accepted the role of Lah Zhima in Star Wars: Visions he made sure to clarify with Lucasfilm whether or not doing so would disqualify him from future Star Wars projects. The answer was no, and in speaking with ComicBook.com he made it clear he’s got his eye on future Star Wars projects going forward.
“I will say this… one of the first questions I asked when I got sent the offer initially was, ‘Does doing this character preclude me from doing other Star Wars? Because if it does then I don’t…’ And Lucasfilm told me that it did not.”
“I have not played the ‘Star Wars Card’ to the fullest, so I’m just throwing that out there. Just put a lightsaber in my hand. Is that too much to ask?”
Liu’s adoration of Star Wars was first seen in 2020 when he expressed the deep seeded desire to play a Jedi in the Star Wars universe, specifically a grey Jedi. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I definitely want to be in the Star Wars universe,” he said back then while speaking on an episode of the Animal Talk.
“I make no secret about it. I also make no secret about tweeting random things into the universe that I absolutely don’t actually think will come true, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’m a huge Star Wars fan. When I first came to Canada, it was one of the things that I latched onto right away, probably because I didn’t speak a lot of English, but then just the visuals of Star Wars were so compelling and just sucked me in right away, and I became the biggest fan of not only the movies but the whole expanded universe that went around it… I loved the whole gamut of Star Wars game leading up to the latest one, Fallen Order, but the [Knight of the Republic]s, X-Wing, Rogue Squadron, deep cuts, Jedi Knight I, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Battlefront, everything. Star Wars games have been such a huge part of my life.
Exactly which part Liu will play if or when he is cast in another Star Wars project is yet to be seen, but given the number of projects the franchise has brewing, including a brand new one spearheaded by Shawn Levy, he is in no shortage of options.
As for his future in the MCU, Liu has no intention of bowing out. Fans can expect to see him in the sequel to Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which was confirmed shortly after the movie’s release and will be helmed once more by director Destin Daniel Cretton. Cretton will also direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty so Shang-Chi fans are naturally keeping their eyes peeled for the superhero’s returns, but it’s really another MCU movie that they think his character could appear in next.
