Lately it seems like just about everyone has Spider-Man on the brain, and new-to-the-MCU actor Simu Liu is no exception. In a recent interview with Screen Rant, the Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings star reportedly said the next thing he wants his character to do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is team up with the one-and-only Peter Parker. According to Liu, he has hopes that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will recruit the pair to adapt one of the Marvel Universe’s famous comic book storylines: Spider-Island.
There’s this very famous story in which Shang-Chi and Spider-Man have a little team-up moment. I don’t know if you’re familiar with this, but in the comics, Spider-Man needs a little bit of help with his martial arts; he needs to brush up a little bit. And says, yeah, I’ll help you, I’ll develop a whole style based on your abilities – and they call it the Way of the Spider. I’m outing myself as a huge comic book nerd. But that’s something I really want to see and I really hope that Kevin [Feige] gets to see this interview so that he can potentially put it in a future movie somewhere.
For those less familiar with the story than self-professed “comic book nerd” Liu, 2011’s Spider-Island comic series takes place after hundreds of New Yorkers living on Manhattan island suddenly manifest the same powers as Spider-Man. While the Avengers are quick to step in and attempt to stop the sudden onslaught of spider villains that arise, Spider-Man himself is having a much harder time grasping the situation and eventually told he much sit the battle out, as the rest of his pals can’t distinguish between him and the new Spider-folks.
Ultimately, all this causes Peter to lose the ability to use his Spider-Sense, and seeing as that Spider-Sense is what allows the hero to dodge both bullets and blows, this loss does not bode well for his future as a hero. In an attempt to get his instincts and combat skills back up to snuff, Peter seeks out Shang-Chi to teach him martial arts, and together the pair develop a new style known as the Way of the Spider. Written by prolific comic book writer Dan Slott, the series earned a lot of praise upon release, making it a pretty decent candidate for a big screen adaptation.
Who knows, if both Simu Liu and Tom Holland’s movies do as well as we’re hoping, perhaps Feige will greenlight the ambitious project for the duo. Regardless, while we won’t get to see the pair together anytime soon, we do get to see both Shang-Chi and Peter Parker later this year. Simu Liu makes his Marvel debut alongside Awkwafina, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, and Michelle Yeoh in Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, which hits theaters September 3. Meanwhile, Tom Holland returns to the role along with Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, and, in a shocking series of events, Alfred Molina, in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17.
