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Mortal Kombat Star Lewis Tan Reveals Losing Titular Shang-Chi Role


Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Lewis Tan banners the upcoming Mortal Kombat film in this year's adaptation of the legendary video game and he revealed that he lost another role before scoring Cole Young's character, it was the titular role of Shang-Chi in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Tan is no stranger to Marvel as he already appeared in one Marvel film before as a supporting character, Shatterstar in Deadpool 2, and in a Marvel Series as Zhou Cheng in Marvel's Iron Fist. He revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he auditioned for the role of Shang-Chi but didn't get the role, Tan shared, "I just lost a crazy job -- a really, really high-caliber level job -- and I heard that news on a plane to Japan and I was, like, devastated."

He said he received a call that he didn't make it and for him to be able to get back on track, he did some mediation course. The role of Shang-Chi was eventually given to Simu Liu, a friend of Tan, and he said, "I think he's going to do a fantastic job with the material." Tan even gave him a shout on his Twitter extending Liu his congratulations for scoring the role.

Fate had other plans for Tan, he believes, "Everything happens at the right time [for] the right reason and looking back on everything that played out, I wouldn't change it for an instant." Tan got a phone call that he booked the part of Cole Young in the reboot of Mortal Kombat, an iconic game existing for 30 years coming into the big screen.

True enough, things happen for a reason, Tan may have lost Shang-Chi's role but he got another character to portray which suits him really well, Cole Young.

Mortal Kombat premieres on April 23, 2021, in theaters with a same-day release on HBO Max. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are scheduled for a theatrical release on September 3, 2021, and on the same day, it will also be released via Disney Plus Premier Access.

Related: Mortal Kombat Movie Teaser Offers New Glimpse at Cole Young vs Goro Showdown

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