Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu is enjoying his film setting a record for the biggest box office opening on Labor Day weekend in North American film history and he is doing so while also poking fun at the people who predicted that he is film would flop.
The actor made a post on his Instagram stories where he reposted an image someone had recently shared in a post wondering why so many YouTube channels have made videos lately claiming that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was going to flop and added the simple response of "LOL."
Liu, like Captain Marvel star Brie Larson, is younger than most of the established Marvel Cinematic Universe stars like Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth, but more importantly, the difference in age appears to be reflected in a different approach to social media. Most celebrities use social media, but Liu and Larson are a good deal more involved in it than the previous generation of MCU stars (some of whom are only a few years younger, but that can be a lifetime in technology).
That difference in approach has been evident in their reaction to online criticism. Larson famously clapped back at criticism she felt unfair, like sharing edited versions of the older MCU stars smiling after she was criticized for not smiling more in the trailer for Captain Marvel.
Similarly, Liu seems to understand that some of these criticism exist simply to criticize, as over-the-top criticism and calls for a movie to be a "flop" can help drive reader interest in a video, as there is always someone out there who wants to see something fail, especially when that new project marks a change in approach with regards to diversity (Larson's Captain Marvel, the first MCU film to star a woman, had eerily similar videos made about how her film, which made a billion dollars at the box office, was going to "flop").
Therefore, instead of engaging, Liu just makes fun of them, just like he did recently when he used one of his old stock images to similar make fun of the people who were predicting that his films were going to be a failure.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which also stars Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen and Tony Leung, is in theatres now.
Source: Instagram