Tony Leung Will Be Playing a Villian in an Upcoming MCU Movie

If you watch any amount of Hong Kong films or drama, you know who this is.

I thought I would have to dig some Chinese websites to find gifs, but he actually had a whole page of gifs from Giphy (for comparison, Andy Lau only has about 3 on Giphy).

But, just in case you are too young or too ang moh pai, Tony Leung is one of Five Tiger Generals of TVB (無綫五虎將), who were the most popular male actors of 1980s Hong Kong TV.

He’s a legendary actor known for his wide range across diverse roles and said to be one of the most respected actors in his generation.

And in the past, he rejected roles from Hollywood because he thought those would degrade his character and image in Hong Kong, as Hollywood has a reputation for typecasting.

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of the Ten Rings

You’ve probably never heard of this Superhero before.

Shang-Chi is a Kung Fu master inspired by martial arts films and Bruce Lee in the 1970s when it was very popular. Other than martial arts, the character is also an expert in the staff, nunchaku and sword.

At this point, you’re probably wondering, huh Kung Fu can become superhero meh?

But apparently, he can duplicate himself and would later team up with other characters in the MCU. Shang-Chi will be played by Simu Liu, a Canadian-Chinese known for his role in Kim’s Convenience.

You might also have seen him in Wong Fu productions.

Tony Leung as The Mandarin

Now, you probably clicked because of the villain.

So here’s a little backstory. Originally, Shang-Chi’s main antagonist is Fu Manchu, who was created based on impressions and caricatures of Chinese characters and can be a little racist.

Later on, they would replace the more questionable villain with The Mandarin, who is less controversial and would be called IGN’s 81st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in 2009.

If you’ve got really good memory, you might remember The Mandarin, which appeared in Iron Man 3 in this scene:

And you might also want to check out All Hail the King, a one-shot where the fake Mandarin is being interviewed.

So yeah, the character has been teased for a long time.

Tony Leung is also known for his intensity and badassery in his previous films, which is exactly what the image shows, so the casting makes a lot of sense.

Awkwafina

An actor that seemingly gained popularity from out of nowhere, and you’ll recognise her from Crazy Rich Asians and as a vagina rapper.

…

Vagina rapper is not a typo:

This was a video I was too afraid to Google more about, so I’ll just leave this as it is. We don’t know what role exactly she’ll play yet.

Movie slated for 12 Feb 2021

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings are to be released on 12 Feb 2021. A superhero film but with the zing of martial arts and Hong Kong? I guess I know what I’ll be doing on the evening of 12 Feb…