Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel has been a studio giant for the last several years, pumping out content that’s spanned 32 films and 11 original series in the last 15 years.
The studio was infamous for signing actors to long contracts, spanning several years and multiple projects, including solo movies and team-up projects. As the first wave of Avengers movies finished with Avengers: Endgame in 2019, several actors have moved on, finally able to focus on other projects and franchises without the commitment to Marvel. While some, like Thor star Chris Hemsworth, have previously stated they’d like to play their characters for as long as possible, others, like Robert Downey Jr., have expressed excitement at the opportunity to do other things.
Recently, the Iron Man star stated that Christopher Nolan’s upcoming biopic, Oppenheimer (2023), is “the best film [he’s] ever been in.” The star expressed his fears about his time working with Marvel, explaining that he was afraid it would hurt his acting. Although his role as Iron Man made him a household name, it never won him a nomination for Best Actor, nor has it earned that distinction for any other actor involved in the MCU.
RDJ has been full of praise for the Nolan blockbuster, something that he says challenged him as an actor after almost two decades of CGI action sequences and snarky quips. Now, another Marvel star has expressed similar feelings towards his superhero alter ego after having the opportunity to be in a blockbuster of a completely different genre.
Simu Liu became a quiet fan favorite after starring in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). It was one of Marvel’s first one-off films since Endgame, although it did cameo characters like Wong, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner. It felt completely different stylistically and was a refreshing twist on the superhero formula Marvel has become comfortable with. Although the end credits set the film up for a sequel, there’s been no further information about a possible follow-up other than its confirmation.
Liu recently addressed this, mentioning Marvel’s other recently delayed projects and the current up-in-the-air situation with the Hollywood strikes. Even through the delays and “always changing” state of the Marvel line-up, Liu states that “when the call comes, I will happily show up.”
While expressing his excitement about his possible involvement in Avengers: Kang Dynasty, he also stated that he was glad to have had the experience of working on Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie (2023). “It’s been a really fulfilling journey for me to get to do projects like Barbie, which are separate from that identity of Shang-Chi, and to really get to spread my wings as an artist,” he stated.
Although far from RDJ’s scathing remarks about his own time with Marvel, Liu is newer to the contractual obligation that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he’s already seemingly looking forward to projects that let him “really spread his wings.”
The superhero genre has been reinvigorated by Marvel, especially their earlier work before bogging down their universe, but it’s been discredited as a film genre for years. Although it takes significant training, agility, and acting skills to work with so much CGI, many film fans have found it lacking in terms of substance or challenge for actors. Clearly, the actors involved in these projects are starting to tire of it, too.
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