Simu Liu Reveals Who Among His “Avengers: Doomsday” Costars Left Him ‘the Most Starstruck I’ve Ever Been’ (Exclusive)
Simu Liu Reveals Who Among His “Avengers: Doomsday” Costars Left Him ‘the Most Starstruck I’ve Ever Been’ (Exclusive)
Rachel Raposas, Tommy McArdleSat, August 1, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC
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Simu Liu at the Marvel Studios press line at San Diego Comic Con.Credit: Gilbert Flores/Getty -
Simu Liu says working with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen on Avengers: Doomsday left him feeling starstruck
Liu compares the experience of joining Marvel’s biggest heroes to playing with action figures as a child
Avengers: Doomsday will unite characters from the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four in a massive cinematic event
Simu Liu gets starstruck, too!
The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star, 37, spoke with PEOPLE at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, opening up about working with some of his legendary Avengers: Doomsday costars. Along with his fellow Avengers, Liu’s character joins the Fantastic Four and the X-Men for the first time in the highly anticipated forthcoming film — and the unique combination of Marvel stars has led to more than a few surreal moments.
Liu says the most exciting moments on the set of Doomsday were when he was hanging out and working alongside the actors behind X-Men characters Professor X and Magneto, played by Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, respectively.
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.Credit: Frazer Harrison/WireImage; Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage
“For me, it’s Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen ... not just for their roles in X-Men, which are so iconic, but I also grew up just a massive [Star Trek] Next Generation super-nerd, and Lord of the Rings as well,” he tells PEOPLE. Stewart starred in the Star Trek series as Jean-Luc Picard, while McKellen starred as Gandalf in the screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books.
“So just getting to talk to them, getting to hang on set with them in between takes, it was the most starstruck I’ve ever been,” Liu adds.
Avengers: Doomsday has been a thrilling ride for Liu, he says. In addition to experiencing “this overwhelming sense of joy” when first reading the scripts, learning how his character would finally interact with beloved Marvel superheroes who Liu had “been watching as a fan for over 25 years” was especially surreal.
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“It’s like that feeling of being in a sandbox and playing with all these action figures when you’re really young,” Liu explains. “It was that feeling, except now you’re one of the action figures.”
The actor learned he’d be a part of Doomsday “literally from the moment” Shang-Chi came out in 2021, but the pieces only began falling into place early last year. This will mark Liu’s first return as the superhero since the initial film debuted.
Avengers: Doomsday poster.Credit: Marvel
Liu anticipates Doomsday being a “massive cinematic event” of “unfathomable scale,” he says, if the positive support from Marvel fans at San Diego Comic-Con is any indication. He tells PEOPLE it’s “just incredible, feeding off the energy of the fans” of the franchise.
Avengers: Doomsday “follows beloved heroes from three distinct universes as they’re set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered,” according to Marvel.
Avengers: Doomsday premieres in theaters on Dec. 18.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
