Henry Golding Reacts To Marvel’s 'Shang-Chi' Casting Buzz

Henry Golding won’t reveal if he’s a contender to be the MCU’s next big hero, but that doesn’t mean the “Crazy Rich Asians” actor is being quiet about his love for Marvel.

Ahead of winning CinemaCon’s male star of tomorrow award at the Las Vegas event on April 4, the actor made it clear he’s supportive of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next phase of films. His comments came after being questioned by the press about some comic book fan’s desires to see him land the leading role in the studio’s rumored upcoming film starring character Shang-Chi.

“Marvel is coming out with amazing, amazing, sort of productions and going forward, they’ve got a whole new generation of superheroes that they’re going to explore. It’s an honor to even be in that sort of conversation,” Golding told reporters, including International Business Times.

READ: Henry Golding Tried To Get ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spoilers Out Of Emilia Clarke

Golding, 32, went on to share that he thinks the film, which will reportedly see Marvel’s first Asian lead, will be “absolutely amazing,” but wouldn’t outright share if the movie was his “dream project.”

“I think there are many dream projects. I’m a lover of sci-fi. I’m a huge comic book fan for years and years. I love anything that’s really going to take me out of my every day to break through my own reality and take somebody on a journey and a story. I can’t wait to explore all types of movies and films,” he said, adding, “For me, it’s really about the project. It’s about the material. It’s about the filmmakers.”

While Golding said he was honored to be listed among the many names Marvel fans are speculating could play the Asian MCU lead, he did share his hope that his ethnicity won’t always be the leading topic of conversation when it comes to his film roles.

“We’re in a time where there are eyes on people of color of this certain stage in Hollywood’s age; a leading man can be colorblind. The importance of 'Black Panther' and 'Crazy Rich Asians,' it’s really put people of color at the forefront and shown that there is a possibility of telling very accurate, authentic stories with the actual people these stories at about.

But at the same time, as an actor, I want to sort of go into the realm of color-blind…This is where we wish Hollywood would sort of end, with doing away with trying to fill a quota for people of color…I want to be a leading man whose name isn’t attached to his ethnicity. I want to be in a loving partnership with a beautiful, blonde hair, blue-eyed woman, or an Asian or a black woman, it doesn’t really matter. The strength of the story is really what we're sort of leaning towards and I really do hope that Hollywood does take that.”

Golding’s confirmed next projects include the crime drama “The Gentlemen,” directed by Guy Ritchie, and Paul Feig’s “Last Christmas” with Emilia Clarke.