Disney+ users “won’t have to wait very long” for a Southeast Asian superhero, said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige at the launch of the streaming platform in Singapore on February 2, 2021.
This is great news for Southeast Asia, as we can definitely expect to see more regional representation in the movies and TV shows we love.
And if Feige’s words are to be believed, we won’t have to wait a millennium for it.
IMAGE: Disney+ / AsiaOne
The announcement of this new Disney+ Southeast Asian superhero is quite timely, seeing that the release of Raya and the Last Dragon is just around the corner, slated for a March 5, 2021 premiere on the online streaming platform. The upcoming film was also inspired by Southeast Asian culture.
“As I said, the world outside your window, no matter where you are, is what the Marvel world will represent,” Feige said.
However, as Screen Rant’s Thomas Bacon puts it, “in truth there’s a sense most of the stories are set in the world outside New York’s window,” since Marvel is based in New York City.
Raya is voiced by Vietnamese-American actress, Kelly Marie Tran who also played Rose Tico in the Star Wars franchise. IMAGE: Disney / IndieWire
But with Raya and the Last Dragon coming soon, and with a new Southeast Asian superhero slated for introduction on Disney+, people on this side of the world can rest easy knowing we may finally be able to see Marvel’s theatrical interpretation of Southeast Asia.
Feige gave no further details about this new superhero.
IMAGE: Nueva Periodico
We can still look forward to what Marvel’s Phase 4 has in store for us, including its first Asian-led superhero film, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Slated for a July 2021 release, the movie wrapped filming in October 2020, and features familiar names in its cast, including Awkwafina, Tony Leung, as well as Malaysian actors Ronny Chieng and Michelle Yeoh.
The world of comics, on the other hand, already welcomed a Southeast Asian superhero in 2019.
Marvel Comics’ War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas introduced a Filipina superhero called Wave, and she looks absolutely majestic.
Damn. IMAGE: Comics Heating Up
Filipino comic artist Leinil Yu helped design Wave’s costume, sprinkling it with a heavy dose of green, black, and gold, putting together a really badass look.
Alyssa Wong, an Asian American speculative fiction author of Chinese and Filipino descent, helped craft Wave’s backstory, further adding depth to her character.
