Simu Liu is reacting to critics “s—ting on” superhero movies.The Shang-Chi and Avengers: Doomsday star thinks it has become “fashionable” to “hate on” them.However, he maintains hope that the genre can inspire “the outcasts and the nerds and the weirdos.”

Simu Liu thinks superhero movies might have fallen out of style for some critics and viewers.

The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star recently reflected on the reputation and cultural impact of comic book flicks, recognizing that the MCU and its peers aren’t quite as beloved as they used to be. 

“It’s kind of fashionable now to hate on it,” Liu told Variety in a new interview, adding that it’s fair to have a little skepticism. “I think there are valid critiques of the way that movies are made, the way that production budgets are handled. I think that there are a lot of valid things to say.”

Simu Liu in Los Angeles on Nov. 13, 2025.

Phillip Faraone/Getty

But Liu doesn’t want to write off comic book projects as a whole. “This idea of s—ting on superhero movies as a genre? I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know, because I am speaking as somebody who just absolutely loved watching them as a kid.”

Liu has been hard at work on Avengers: Doomsday, the upcoming Marvel crossover that will unite his martial arts expert with other heroes, including Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther. The film will also bring Robert Downey Jr. back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this time he’ll play the villainous Doctor Doom rather than Tony Stark/Iron Man.

“It was really awesome, exciting,” Liu said of shooting Doomsday. “So many actors that I grew up watching, and to get to kind of play in that sandbox with them… it’s a dream come true.”

Liu’s childhood fascination with superpowered stories gives him hope that comic book movies still have value. “I grew up watching superhero movies and wanting to believe that the outcasts and the nerds and the weirdos could find it in themselves to have superpowers and save the day,” he said. “That’s what 12-year-old me clung on to. I still believe, for better or for worse, in the power of what those movies stand for today.”

Doomsday — which is being filmed back-to-back with the sixth Avengers movie, Secret Wars — may have an even bigger cast than the record-shattering Avengers: Endgame, adding the stars of this year’s Thunderbolts into the fold. They include Florence Pugh’s Yelena, Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, Lewis Pullman’s Sentry, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, and David Harbour’s Red Guardian. 

Simu Liu in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’.

Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection

In addition, the movie will reunite the latest Fantastic Four from this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby’s Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn’s Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s the Thing.

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Doomsday will also see numerous actors from the X-Men films return to their mutant roles more than 25 years after the franchise launched, including Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, James Marsden’s Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit.

Directed by the Russo brothers, Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on Dec. 18, 2026.