Simu Liu Wanted To Play X-Men's Sunfire Before Learning Of Shang-Chi - Screen Rant

Simu Liu, the star of Marvel's upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, says he wanted to play an X-Men character named Sunfire before he ever even knew about Shang-Chi. Liu landed the role of Shang-Chi in 2019 and had actually campaigned for the part online years earlier. He'll share the screen with a talented cast that includes Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, and Tony Leung. Shang-Chi is also bolstered by behind-the-scenes talent with director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is best known for helming critically acclaimed films, Short Term 12 and Just Mercy.

The plot of Shang-Chi is said to follow Liu's title character being drawn into the Ten Rings organization, where he will have to confront his past. It's the perfect character and story for Liu, who has been championing Shang-Chi to the screen for years as he pushed for better Asian representation in film. However, now that Liu has portrayed Marvel's Master of Kung Fu, he has revealed that he actually had his eyes on another character long before Shang-Chi.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Liu was asked if there was another character aside from Shang-Chi that he would've like to play. Liu brought up the character Sunfire, calling him "a deep cut." He went into a bit of Sunfire's background with the X-Men before getting to the heart of the character's arc as a villain who realizes he's in the wrong. Liu called Sunfire a "really fascinating character" that would be "cool to play" before mentioning that it was long before he knew who Shang-Chi was. Check out Liu's comments from Screen Rant's exclusive interview below:

"God, this is a deep cut. When I was like 22 years old, I wrote this bible for a Sunfire series. So, Sunfire is actually one of the members of the first X-Men team, and he’s a Japanese mutant who got his powers from a young age and grew up in an environment raised by his uncle to hate America. So he starts off as an enemy of the X-Men and then he has this beautiful arc in which he realizes he’s the bad guy - and then he becomes a good guy, then he becomes somewhere kind of in between. He’s a really, really fascinating character, and I thought, hey, it would be really cool to play him. This was before I knew Shang-Chi even existed. I guess you could say I was manifesting superhero roles for myself since a lot further back than that tweet. I’ve always just been such a big fan of the MCU and anything Marvel, really."

Sunfire, a Japanese mutant named Shiro Yoshida, has been a part of Marvel comics since his debut in X-Men #64 in 1970. Created by Roy Thomas and Don Heck, Sunfire was known for his arrogant nature, flight, and ability to generate superheated plasma. However, Sunfire's powers also stem from real-world horrors. Following the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, his mother became ill with radiation poisoning, which resulted in Shiro being born with his abilities. While Sunfire is associated with the X-Men, his tenure with the team was short-lived, but it was enough to catch Liu's attention.

Liu mentioned that he created a bible for a Sunfire series, which included multiple seasons and shows just how much thought he put into playing the character. For comic readers, Sunfire is still an obscure character, which further pushes Liu's drive for Asian representation in media. However, with Shang-Chi on the horizon, that may be about to change. If Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is successful at the box office, it will easily earn sequels and help to usher in more Asian characters like Sunfire. While Marvel's X-Men plans are still under wraps, Sunfire could make for a unique addition when they finally join the MCU.

Next: Shang-Chi's China Backlash Explained: Why Marvel Can't Release The Movie (Yet)

Key Release Dates

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: Mar 25, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023

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Timothy McClelland (76 Articles Published)

Tim McClelland is a TV/Movie News Writer for Screen Rant, and his screenplays have accrued more than 25 awards and selections in competition. Tim got his start when his short biography on Augusten Burroughs was published in 2008, and his career has seen him write video game walkthroughs, web content, and interactive fiction for mobile platforms. Tim resides in Durham, NC, with a rabid passion for film, TV, video games, and comics.