The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie is probably Avengers: Doomsday, which will bring us new crossover and character pairings. Robert Downey Jr. is back in the MCU as Doctor Doom, and Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu recently recalled the embarrassing story behind meeting the Oscar-winning icon for the first time.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is super limited, but that hasn't stopped fan excitement from steadily building. The blockbuster will mark Liu's first live-action return to the shared universe since Shang-Chi hit theaters in 2021, and fans can't wait to see how he interacts with other characters. During a recent clip from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Kim's Convenience actor spoke about a viral photo from the set of Doomsday featuring a group of the stars. In his words:
Can we just talk about my wardrobe for a second? Because it looks like I'm really, really underdressed. And I just want to say this was my first time meeting Downey, by the way. So I was just as embarrassed as I am now showing it to you.
The Doomsday cast announcement confirmed that entire teams of heroes will be in the blockbuster, presumably uniting to fight off RDJ's Doctor Doom. But while Simu Liu was seemingly looking forward to meeting and collaborating with the Iron Man star, unfortunately that happened when he wasn't exactly dressed to impress.
Later in the same interview, Liu explained why he ended up wearing short shorts and flip flops when taking the group photo (and meeting Downey for the first time). It turns out that he was actually filming Doomsday, and wasn't expecting any photography when he got out of costume. As he told it:
But I just want to preface by saying I was the only one of these people who had to work that day. And so I showed up to work, I'm ready to shoot. I wasn't trying to look pretty. And I got a text in the middle of the day that was like 'Oh Downey wants to say hi to you after work.' And I was like 'No! I'm in short shorts and flip flops!'
This makes more sense, but unfortunately that group photo will likely live on forever. And presumably so will the Barbie actor's embarrassment. Unfortunately for him, Robert Downey Jr. not only clocked his fit, but commented on it during their conversation. As Liu put it:
And they were like 'No, Downey wants everyone to come in and say hi!' And so I show up and literally the first thing he said, he was like 'Oh, look at you! That's a choice.' I was like 'God!'
Ouch. This doesn't seem like the way Simu Liu wanted to meet RDJ, but there's silver lining: at least he was memorable. But since they presumably got to film together for Doomsday, I'm sure he got to make a better impression on set. We'll just have to wait and see how many scenes they actually share.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to arrive in theaters on December 18th of next year as part of the 2026 movie release list. There are countless rumors about what The Russo Brothers have up their sleeves, and it should be fascinating to see what actually goes down.
