Simu Liu Photo: IC

Shang-Chi Photo: IC

The 2019 San Diego Comic-Con was held on Saturday. This 50-year-old comic convention drew the attention of comic fans around the world. One of the main draws of Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced its slate of upcoming movies and shows for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). 

Adding even more hype to the event, it was announced that Avengers: Endgame surpassed the $2.78 billion box-office record set by Avatar to become the No.1 grossing film of all time. 

After the sacrifice of Iron Man, Captain American, Black Widow and other superheroes in Endgame, fans were looking forward to what Marvel Studios have planned next. 

The studio didn't let fans down, especially fans of TV. A slate of shows was announced including, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wanda Vision, LOKI, Doctor Strange: in the Multiverse of Madness, WHAT IF...? and Hawkeye. 

All the TV series will star the same actors and actresses as the films such as Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. All the TV series will be shown in 2021.

What's more, films including The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Widow and Blade were also announced.

Among these heavyweights announcements, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the one that grabbed the most attention in China. As the first Asian-led Marvel superhero movie, it sparked a wave of discussion and debate on social media even after it was announced. 

Actually, discussion began even before the announcement. On July 14, Justin Kroll, a reporter from Variety, tweeted that "Marvel is putting out test offers for a group of men in their 20s for its Shang-Chi movie."

Marvel announced at Comic-Con that Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu has been chosen to play Shang-Chi and Chinese Hong Kong actor Tony Leung will play the Mandarin. 

Additionally, Chinese female director Chloé Zhao will direct The Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden. Korean-American actor Ma Dong-seok, who broke out with his role in South Korean zombie film Train to Busan, will also star in the film.

On Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, netizens said the rise of Asian stars helps add diversity to the MCU.

Minority-led Hollywood films always become hot topics on social media. 

On Sina Weibo, netizens expressed their concern about the Shang-Chi film.

At first, many netizens including Marvel comic fans were surprised to find out that Shang-Chi's father Fu Manchu fits the Western stereotype for Asians. Even though Shang-Chi is a superhero of justice, netizens were not happy to learn about this fact about his father. 

The announcement that Leung was joining the MCU also started a new round of debates among Chinese netizens. 

The topic ranked No.2 on Sina Weibo by Sunday morning, with the hashtag receiving more than 76.5 million views. Many netizens noted that seeing Leung's name attached to the film and the character of the Mandarin helped put their worries to rest. 

However, many netizens said that they feel that there is little difference between Fu Manchu and the Mandarin and that such insulting content will not be popular in the Chinese film market. 

Netizen KaiyuZH commented that Marvel has been putting a lot of effort into avoiding cultural faux pas so there is no need to get worked up just yet.
Newspaper headline: New faces