Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu has hit back at the idea of the release of the Marvel outing being an "experiment". The actor's response comes following comments made recently by Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who described Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings exclusive theatrical release as being "an interesting experiment for us, because it only has a 45-day window." Evidently, Liu is not best please with the project being viewed as such...

"We are not an experiment." Simu Liu told social media. "We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise. I'm fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US."

Chapek recently confirmed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will receive an exclusive theatrical release as opposed to the simultaneous theatrical and streaming release controversially given to Marvel's Black Widow. "We think it's actually going to be an interesting experiment for us, because it only has a 45-day window for us." Chapek explained, "because of the practically of last-minute changes it wouldn't be possible" to give Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings the same kind of release as Black Widow received.

This approach to the movie's release has clearly irked Liu somewhat, with the actor seemingly taking the idea of Shang-Chi being an experiment as a suggestion that Disney perhaps does not have too much faith in the project, and is instead handling it as something of a trial run, something which could end up reflecting negatively on the movie, which features the MCU's first Asian superhero lead.

Of course, Liu has reason to be irritated by this. Should Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsfail to make an impression at the box office, this could affect his position in the MCU where sequels and further appearances are concerned. In fact, it has since been reported that many Marvel fans are indeed planning to skip the movie in theaters for fear of the ongoing global situation, and thus, the so-called "experiment" suddenly seems a risky one, and could greatly impact a project that Liu had been passionate about even before it had even been greenlit.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay he wrote with David Callaham and Andrew Lanham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will chronicle the story of Shang-Chi, a skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Wenwu. After leaving the nefarious Ten Rings organization and opting to live a normal life in San Francisco, Shang-Chi is soon drawn back into the clandestine world of the Ten Rings and is forced to confront the past he thought he had left behind.

Starring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Leung, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will introduce a newly undiscovered world of martial arts and magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the movie due to introduce another all-powerful weapon in the form of the Ten Rings, as well as an underwater dragon and, finally, the real version of supervillain The Mandarin, who just so happens to be Shang-Chi's father. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 3, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.