While we’re anxiously awaiting Black Panther 2…

After Marvel Studios released Avengers: Endgame (2019), many concluded that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was over. However, the production studio still has quite a few stories to tell before the end of its 13-year reign. One of these stories is of  Marvel’s first Asian superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).

Simu Liu, known for his role as Jung Kim in the series “Kim’s Convenience,” will play Shang-Chi. The actor surprised fans with the news of his new role on April 19, the same day as his 32nd birthday.

“Whoever said that you could only RECEIVE presents on your birthday,” the 32-year-old actor tweeted. “Today, I’m giving you your FIRST LOOK at the teaser poster for ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’”

Marvel released the official trailer for the movie on the same day. So far, audiences know that Shang-Chi is the son of an assassin called The Mandarin played by Tony Leung. Shang-Chi trades his villainous life for a new chapter in America, only to get sucked back in by his father.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPjz6LoiQQo]

Besides being one of the most highly-anticipated action features of the year, the film also marks several firsts for the Studio. Liu is now the first Asian lead protagonist in Marvel movie history. Also, for the first time, a Marvel movie has an almost entirely Asian cast. The film also features Awkwafina as Katy, Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, and Fala Chen as Leiko Wu.

“Shang-Chi is more than just a movie,” Liu wrote on his Instagram. “It is a celebration of our culture and a rallying cry for the forgotten, the unseen, and the overlooked. It is a reminder to take up space, to stand tall, and to be unapologetically ourselves.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2TZUInMbS/

He also added that fans can expect superhero action like never before, and who doesn’t love that? 

Shang-Chi will hit theaters on Sept. 3, 2021.