Benedict Wong has said he is “super thrilled” to have been cast in Marvel‘s upcoming Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.
Speaking to SYFY Wire, the actor discussed portraying the character of Wong for a fourth time after roles in Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
“When Shang-Chi was happening, I was so pleased that it was happening but I was a little kind of crestfallen I wasn’t a part of it,” he said.
“Then the call [from Marvel Studios] came. And I was like, ‘Yes!’ You know, I’m super thrilled to be sat at a table of Asian excellence, it was amazing. I’m a big fan of all of those artists. Tony Leung [Chiu-wai] is a massive idol of mine. So it’s been constant surprises, that’s what [the role of Wong] gives me.”
The new adventure also sees Simu Liu take on the role of the titular Master of Kung Fu, confronting a past that he thought he left behind, with the film set to be the first MCU outing to centre on an Asian superhero.
Watch the trailer for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings below:
Last month (June 29), Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that the Abomination and Wong will face off in the film.
“Some fans said, ‘This looks like a character they hadn’t seen in many years named the Abomination, fighting a character that looks like Wong.’ And I can say that the reason it looks like that is because that is Abomination fighting Wong,” Feige told Rotten Tomatoes.
“[It’s] a fun thing to have a character that we haven’t had on screen in over a decade show up again in the MCU,” Feige added. “And to see fans on that little tag of the trailer recognise that and embrace that is great fun.”
Shang-Chi, which is due for release on September 3, also stars Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan.
Wong also recently gave an update on the status of Marvel‘s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
“It’s a cracking script,” Wong told Collider. “And now, having Sam Raimi involved has been a really wonderful experience. He’s such a fantastic director and [a] lovely, lovely man. He’s just such fun to work with.”
