Avengers: Doomsday has a lot riding on it, especially since it is the first Avengers film to be released since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In a lot of ways, that movie felt like the closing of a major chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, The Infinity Saga would soon be followed by The Multiverse Saga, with plenty of new heroes being introduced to take the place of the original characters who made the films so iconic. One such hero is Shang-Chi, introduced in his own solo film in 2021 and portrayed by Simu Liu, who is now one of the leads of Doomsday.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Liu was asked to describe Avengers: Doomsday in three words, to which he said: “Dream come true.” The actor hasn’t appeared in a mainline MCU film since his own solo project, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so finally returning to the big screen as the hero only this time part of an ensemble must have been an exciting experience. Much of the plot has been kept under wraps, though the casting announcement video made sure to put Liu’s chair as one of the first in the video when it was originally uploaded.
Liu would even specifically cite the vast number of actors he got to work with, saying: “I mean, there are just so many actors in it, and getting to work with those people as peers is really incredible because I grew up watching so many of them.” The actor isn’t just referring to the MCU veterans such as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, or Anthony Mackie, but also to the legacy actors who will be reprising their roles from the X-Men films, like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden.
Simu Liu Is Passionate About the Superhero Genre, Despite Audience Misgivings
Although Marvel Studios has come under some criticism over the past few years for the quality of its projects versus the overwhelming output. Still, Simu Liu expressed his love for the comic book movie genre, telling ScreenRant that “it feels, in a lot of ways, like a love letter to the entire genre of superhero movies. And I think there’s something really fun about that.” It was important for Liu when making Doomsday to create a space for audiences to identify with the larger-than-life characters, as he would conclude his talk about the upcoming movie by defending superhero blockbusters and their place in the industry.
Despite the criticism and uncertainty of the success of future comic book movie projects, given the box office performance of more recent MCU films, Liu believes that there will always be a need for them, as he would describe who he was making Avengers: Doomsday for:
“[this film is for] all the misfits and weirdos and the underdogs that grew up reading comic books and feeling like there was hope for them somehow— that it didn’t matter if they didn’t fit in— I think there’s just always a special place in my heart for that entire genre.”