Happy birthday, Simu Liu. Filled with high-flying action, the first trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings dropped on April 19, just in time for the lead star’s birthday. The trailer has had mostly positive responses from Marvel fans, though reaction from Chinese internet users was mixed. The teaser clip introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first superhero of Asian descent, as played by Liu , known for his work on the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience . With a cast that includes Awkwafina and Tony Leung Chiu-wai , Shang-Chi will also have an Asian-led filmmaking team behind it, including director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter David Callaham. Shang-Chi follows the titular superhero as he reckons with his past and present. The movie will introduce Leung as Wenwu , a new character created for the MCU. Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, and the film’s producer, Jonathan Schwartz, explained in an interview with US magazine Entertainment Weekly that Wenwu has “gone by many names”, including the Mandarin. A villain pretending to be the Mandarin appeared in Iron Man 3 . Shang-Chi is based on a ’70s comic-book character called the Master of Kung Fu. In the comics, Shang-Chi’s father trains him in martial arts. He eventually gains formidable skills, all the while unravelling the truth behind his father’s intentions. asians finally getting the representation we deserve #shangchi pic.twitter.com/UouzpTUCf6 — manda ✪ (@lcvendrs) April 19, 2021 Early issues of the comic included racist stereotypes that Shang-Chi will correct to tell an authentic story about Asian identity, according to EW . When Shang-Chi wrapped up filming in October, Cretton and Liu took to social media to celebrate the milestone, with Liu writing a message in the private Facebook group “Subtle Asian Traits” on the film’s impact. “For all of those who hated us because of the colour of our skin, or been made to feel less than because of it; NO MORE,” Liu wrote. “This is OUR movie, and it will be IMPOSSIBLE for Hollywood to ignore us after this.” why shang-chi is so important for the asian community: a small but important thread #shangchi pic.twitter.com/x3dSBe7qwD — moon ⧖ SHANG-CHI ERA (@natsmoonlight) April 19, 2021 Fans celebrated the new trailer on social media, noting its importance to the Asian and Asian-American communities. “I never really had an Asian hero to admire growing up which made me feel insecure in my skin and ignored, especially as a child,” one fan tweeted. In China, with some internet users voiced admiration for Liu and Leung, while others compared the film to 2020’s poorly received Mulan . One user on sports commentary and news platform Hupu said the Chinese elements portrayed using Western aesthetics are the same as those in that live-action Disney film. “It looks very jarring,” she said. A user on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, said he doubted the positive response to the trailer’s release is authentic and called the film a blend of 2015’s Southpaw (2015), House of Flying Daggers (2004), Mulan and 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service . While some Chinese internet users praised details in the trailer, such as the inclusion of a Kung Fu Hustle poster in Shang-Chi’s bedroom, many attacked the apparently flagrant product placement by Chinese companies in the film. People took particular objection to the name of e-commerce giant JD.com in Chinese writ large on the screen when Shang-Chi is fighting his enemy. One Weibo user wrote: “My anticipation of the film was dimmed by the presence of JD in the trailer.”