Los Angeles Times Profile picture
News from a West Coast perspective.

Aug 29, 2021, 7 tweets

In recent years, @awkwafina and @kumailn have already made names for themselves, and cracked the entertainment industry’s doors open for Asian American representation.

Now they’re taking another huge step in their careers: joining the MCU.

latimes.com/entertainment-…

What does the future hold now that they’re part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, helping usher in the most inclusive phase in Marvel history with back-to-back premieres of #ShangChi and The #Eternals?

The two actors sat down to talk about it:
latimes.com/entertainment-…

In “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Awkwafina plays Katy, a loyal best friend who gets to have some of her own stunt time on screen.

“She gets some action,” she says.

latimes.com/entertainment-…

Nanjiani stars as Kingo in “The Eternals,” an immortal hero moonlighting as a Bollywood star.

He said working with director Chloe Zhao allowed him to help craft a character different than “the way a lot of American pop culture see people from Pakistan.”

latimes.com/entertainment-…

Reaching this level of inclusivity in the MCU is something that didn’t seem possible when it began.

Now, the actors are grappling with both the honor and responsibility of representation.

latimes.com/entertainment-…

So how did the two celebrate when they found out they were going to become Marvel stars? They sort of… didn’t?

Awkwafina didn’t want to jinx it, and remembers thinking, “If I celebrate now, it’s meant to fail!”

latimes.com/entertainment-…

The day after the Hollywood premiere of “Shang-Chi,” the actors met up over video chat to trade notes on their career-shifting Marvel debuts.

Read more from writer @jenyamato’s conversation with @kumailn and @awkwafina about their Marvel debuts at latimes.com/entertainment-…

Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.

A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.

Keep scrolling